Toronto cyclists and motorists will get a first look next month at Mayor Rob Ford’s cycling plan, which will include a long-anticipated network of physically separated cycling lanes, says Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong.

The network would connect separated lanes on Sherbourne, Wellesley, Harbord, Beverly, John and Richmond streets, said Minnan-Wong, who heads Toronto’s Cycling Committee.

But the proposed plan won’t come at the expense of the controversial bike lanes painted on Jarvis St. less than a year ago.

Even though he doesn’t support the lanes on Jarvis, removing them isn’t a priority, Ford said Thursday.

“Eventually, would I like to see them go? Absolutely. But is it a priority right now? I haven’t got any documentation or anything like that. So no, it’s not something that’s going to happen immediately. It might happen, but whoever started this rumour, it’s just a rumour for now,” he said.

Minnan-Wong said the Jarvis lanes have always been controversial. “I’ve spoken to a lot of councillors that aren’t happy with it,” he said, adding “there is no organized effort” to eliminate them.

The kind of physical separation from traffic planned for the proposed lanes — whether it be concrete or other barriers — isn’t yet known.

“Staff would be looking at that and consulting with the community and looking at the best alternatives in terms of design, safety and cost,” said Minnan-Wong.

Ford’s election platform included $50 million from the city’s bike infrastructure budget to build 100 kilometres of off-road trails. He promised to spend $5 million for on-road bike lanes that wouldn’t interfere with cars and said cycling lanes would be limited to places where they wouldn’t impede traffic.

Although Ford said he didn’t agree with the Jarvis bike lanes, he told the Star prior to the election it would be a waste of money to get rid of them.

“We feel strongly that the bike lanes should stay. Removing bike lanes in general just creates a very dangerous situation for cyclists,” said Andrea Garcia, director of advocacy for the Toronto Cyclists Union.

“It’s like removing a sidewalk. It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) said she couldn’t fathom getting rid of the Jarvis lanes now they have been painted on the road and the old reversible north-south car lane has been removed.

“It would be ad hoc planning to rip them out without a full strategy to improve Jarvis,” she said. “If anything was to happen in the ward I would expect full consultation.”

Having parallel routes on Jarvis and Sherbourne is a progressive move, said urban cycling consultant Yvonne Bambrick.

“Physically separated lanes on Sherbourne will provide an excellent north-south route for cyclists but it’s not about having one route in one place — it’s about making downtown accessible for cyclists,” she said.

A report from city staff last month showed that the Jarvis cycling lanes were only causing short delays for southbound drivers in the morning. Motorists were delayed somewhat in the afternoon, however, mostly due to a northbound left turn at Gerrard St., which is to be fixed this summer.

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The intersection at Charles St. also needs some modification, said Bambrick, who uses the Jarvis lanes several times a week and says they’re attracting more cyclists.

Cities across North America, including New York and Montreal, are building more separated bike lanes, the amenity non-cyclists say would allay their safety concerns about biking in the city.

With files from Paul Moloney

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