City council has voted in favour of outfitting a stretch of Bloor Street with bike lanes as part of a pilot project.
In a 38-3 vote, council voted in favour to temporarily install a 2.4-kilometre stretch of separated bike lanes on both the north and south side of Bloor Street between Shaw Street and Avenue Road later this summer.
The pilot test will cost taxpayers about $500,000, though the city would see an estimated loss of about $840,000 in annual revenue due to the removal of about 135 on-street parking spaces.
Coun. Joe Cressy, who represents the Trinity-Spadina ward where the pilot project would take place, strongly approves of the bike lanes.
“Bike lanes on Bloor are going to make it safer for drivers and cyclists, it is going to make it better for local businesses by bringing more customers in and ultimately it is going to alleviate congestion by bringing people out of cars and into more active modes of transportation. It is a win-win,” he said.
The head of the local business improvement area association, Brian Burchell, said in an interview last month that he wants the city to sign off on the pilot project so that the impact of bike lanes can be further studied.
Mayor John Tory has also said that he is in support of the pilot project, so long as the impact of the bike lanes on both motorists, businesses and cyclists is thoroughly studied.
“This is going to be a pilot project perhaps unlike others done in the where there will be scrupulous, very, very detailed study of the consequences of this to make sure we’re doing something that in the end improves the urban fabric of the city for everyone,” he told reporters last month.
Last week the city’s public works committee was split 2-2 on the prospect of installing bike lanes along Bloor Street, resulting in the proposal being sent to council without recommendation.
