Bike Lanes are finally a reality on Bloor St. After years of campaigns and debate, city council voted 38-3 in favour of a pilot project that will see cycling infrastructure installed between Shaw St. and Avenue Rd. The lanes could be in place by the end of summer.

The cost of the pilot has been pegged at $500,000 (not including lost revenue from removed parking spots). There's no guarantee that the bike lanes will stay in place for the long term, but the pilot is meant to provide the city with the data required to decide whether or not the lanes should be made a permanent fixture of the street.

The possibility of expanding the project to the east and west of the currently approved route is also possible if the initial project is a success.

"If we want to build the city of the future...we have to try some of these things, Mayor John Tory said of the pilot project. "The idea of building a bike lane on Bloor is not a revolutionary idea."

This echoed the sentiments of the majority of council, who seemed comfortable with the idea of the bike lanes precisely because they are being tried out for one year and could be removed should the feedback for local interests be negative.

Toward that end, you can count on this debate to return to city council with even higher stakes at the completion of the pilot.

Photo by Tom Ryaboi.

