Cyclists are speaking out against drivers parked in the City of Toronto's bike lanes, saying the painted lines offer them no protection if motorists don't respect the rules of the roads.
The outcry was sparked by a video posted to YouTube of a cyclist's commute in the downtown area. A man who lives in the area of Bathurst Street and Fort York Boulevard area put together a compilation to show just how often his path is blocked by parked vehicles.
The two-minute video features the cyclist's encounters from Nov. 4 to 24.
The video, posted by a user who goes by "Toronto Jerk Patrol," shows the daily challenge of navigating bike lanes blocked by vehicles parked illegally.
Jared Kolb, executive director of Cycle Toronto, said parked cars are a daily occurrence for nearly all cyclists using Toronto's bike lanes.
"People who are driving think, 'I just need to pull over for 10 seconds. I just need to pull over to run in to get a coffee. I just need to pull over to pick somebody up,'" Kolb told CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnson on Monday.
"It's that swerve and that park in the bike lane that can be actually really dangerous for a cyclist because they're forced into the roadway."
A Toronto city councillor who cycles to work every day said more needs to be done to enforce the laws of the lanes.
"I think we have to do traffic enforcement," Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker said Monday.
"What you're doing is not just lazy, it's actually dangerous."
The fine for illegally parking in a bike lane is $150, but Cycle Toronto said the fines are difficult to enforce. Officers have to write the tickets and place them on windshields, but often vehicles aren't parked long enough for police to reach the scene.
Cycle Toronto is petitioning the Ontario government to change the laws so that the tickets can be mailed to offending drivers.
