[Cambry Ardship]

Very disappointingly, Councillor Colle has come out against the Marlee bike lanes and is putting forward a motion to cancel the planned construction of the Beltline Connection.

Observing The City (@observingthecity.bsky.social)

Councillor Mike Colle wants to stop moving forward with the beltline gap connections project, which included bi-directional bike lanes and *no* lane removals. Which filled a gap in the network of the Beltline and Marlee ave. He advocated for it last year at committee.

bsky.app

This is a project that would make a great difference to Marlee. It's been discussed here before but in addition to connecting the east and west sections of the Beltline, it would also eliminate the bike lane gap between Winona and Roselawn, meaning that a person could bike from Lawrence Avenue all the way south to the waterfront on a dedicated bike network. Particularly, this would also create a safe cycling connection for the apartment neighbourhood between Roselawn and Viewmount.

Here is the link to the agenda item if anyone wants to submit a comment in support (https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.MM30.13).

The construction was originally intended to have started already, obviously that didn't happen and it's just so sad that a councillor would try to knife a project that's already been approved by Council and that would make so many of his constituent's lives better.

 

[nfitz]

Very disappointingly, Councillor Colle has come out against the Marlee bike lanes and is putting forward a motion to cancel the planned construction of the Beltline Connection.

I hate to be agist - but perhaps this is why we shouldn't have 80-year old councillors that are completely out of touch with society.

 

[PinkLucy]

Nothing to do with age. My friends of that age would be in favour. Plenty of 30 year olds would not.

 

[Northern Light]

I hate to be agist - but perhaps this is why we shouldn't have 80-year old councillors that are completely out of touch with society.

Colle hasn't been all that unfriendly to cycling, he backed the approval of these lanes in the first place.

There has been a very vocal, very loud campaign by some locals to oppose the cycling infra here.

His office has been hearing from them.

I don't agree w/his action here, but he's not out of touch, he's weighing the impacts on his reelection bid...next year.

***

He needs a 2/3 majority re-open. This is routinely granted, but the right lobbying might see this time be different.

 

[Towered]

Colle hasn't been all that unfriendly to cycling, he backed the approval of these lanes in the first place.

There has been a very vocal, very loud campaign by some locals to oppose the cycling infra here.

His office has been hearing from them.

I don't agree w/his action here, but he's not out of touch, he's weighing the impacts on his reelection bid...next year.

***

He needs a 2/3 majority re-open. This is routinely granted, but the right lobbying might see this time be different.

I think it's performative. This way he can say he listened to his constituents' needs and has a record showing that he took action on same, and can then throw his hands up in feigned frustration when council inevitably does not back his motion to amend.

 

[bearcat]

Colle hasn't been all that unfriendly to cycling, he backed the approval of these lanes in the first place.

There has been a very vocal, very loud campaign by some locals to oppose the cycling infra here.

His office has been hearing from them.

I don't agree w/his action here, but he's not out of touch, he's weighing the impacts on his reelection bid...next year.

***

He needs a 2/3 majority re-open. This is routinely granted, but the right lobbying might see this time be different.

Who are these locals lol? For the Marlee section down to Eglinton there are like less than a dozen house affected. No car lanes lost. No sidewalk lost. No on street parking lost. I can't think of a better solution for implementing cycling infrastructure on that stretch.

Is the loss of the sidewalk with it being converted a MUP the problem on Roselawn? I am fine with that not going ahead as it's duplicated by the planned Beltline extension, as long as they keep the bike lanes on the bridge over the Allen, and make a proper signalized crossing for the Beltline mid block.

 

[Northern Light]

Who are these locals lol?.....

Your questions answered, below:

The Battle Over a 475-Metre Bike Lane on Marlee Avenue | The Local

In Toronto, even the most modest bike lane proposal is met with outsized anger and fear.

thelocal.to

 

[bearcat]

Your questions answered, below:

The Battle Over a 475-Metre Bike Lane on Marlee Avenue | The Local

In Toronto, even the most modest bike lane proposal is met with outsized anger and fear.

thelocal.to

"In the months after the approval, a group of homeowners and small businesses along the short stretch of Marlee Avenue between Roselawn and Eglinton began petitioning to “keep Marlee Avenue safe.”"

So it's Marlee section that's being protested the most. Ridiculous.

"Kyriakopoulos demonstrated by measuring heel-to-toe the various points where he contends the street is too narrow to accommodate the project, and showed me that he will no longer be able to park a car in the space in front of his two-car garage"

 

[Cambry Ardship]

Note that the space he's parking his car--as in, all of the space--is actually city land, part of the Right of Way.

 

[Northern Light]

I previously posted on the opposition to Marlee.

The discussion starts here:

Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

Could this be a nascent cycle track staked out along Overlea Blvd?

urbantoronto.ca

I called it overwrought and irrational.

I haven't changed my mind.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I previously posted on the opposition to Marlee.

The discussion starts here:

Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

Could this be a nascent cycle track staked out along Overlea Blvd?

urbantoronto.ca

I called it overwrought and irrational.

I haven't changed my mind.

This is absurd. It's a great project bridging a key gap without having any impact on vehicle operations. It'll make traversing this stretch of Marlee safer and easier for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians alike. Nobody should be listening to these fools.

 

[felix123]

In Montreal again, working, but really enjoying this first week of spring/summer. When not hotelling it downtown, I have a new lovely space to crash near Parc Baldwin, so a couple of blocks above Sherbrooke, close to Mont Royal. When not Bixie Biking, it is close to the bridge for points south and east of the river when i am ICEING it for the day.

Anyways, Bixie Bikes are great as usual, as are the separated bike lanes, as are no right turn on red lights at intersections. Doug Ford is at the beck and call of the 'only me first in my car' crowd. I just wish he could see the flocks of people scooting along major streets - school kids and younger to the more senior ages groups. In fact, and I should have taken a photo, there were backups of cyclers on the separated bike lanes on Rue Rachel the past couple of days. I guess its a routine happening and speaks to the volumes of people on two wheels. Time to expand the bike lanes! Or maybe a tunnel?

If I would grumble, ti would be the (seemingly) lack of good north/south routes, compared to the number of east/west routes. And why does Sherbrooke not have bike lanes (any lanes for that matter, paint seems to be in short supply in Montreal)?

I know Montreal is not perfect by any means (the health care system is a disaster) but there is a certain livability factor in the above, plus the neighbourhoods of 3/4/5 story walkups - density without towers, lovely living spaces with better then single family densities. Contrast that to Liberty Village (for an example) and you do question the need for that level of density.

Working from the crash pad today so Cappuccino time! Shout out to Croissant Croissant on Mont Royal and Toledo a little further along.

I'll be there next week. Cycling in Montréal in summer always feels so easy-breezy, if not a little bumpy.

In Toronto I bike a lot and always feel like I'm personally instigating a culture war against d***h***ds like Ford. Drivers here are just so aggressive around bikes.

 

[Sauga89]

it would also eliminate the bike lane gap between Winona and Roselawn, meaning that a person could bike from Lawrence Avenue all the way south to the waterfront on a dedicated bike network.

So, I don't have much stake in this, but just on the question of biking from Lawrence to Eglinton, are there better alternatives than Marlee? I see from a quick UT search that @Northern Light says the west side of Allen is too narrow for a multi-use path. I'll trust his judgement there, but what about the east side of the Allen? It seems a bit wider than the path on the west side, and with less car traffic than Marlee. There's just one small gap in the sidewalk between Coldstream and Fraserwood.

 

[bearcat]

So, I don't have much stake in this, but just on the question of biking from Lawrence to Eglinton, are there better alternatives than Marlee? I see from a quick UT search that @Northern Light says the west side of Allen is too narrow for a multi-use path. I'll trust his judgement there, but what about the east side of the Allen? It seems a bit wider than the path on the west side, and with less car traffic than Marlee. There's just one small gap in the sidewalk between Coldstream and Fraserwood.

Marlee actually has stuff on it. Stores, dentists, medical clinics, pharmacies, hairdressers, restaurants, a school and will have many new condos as @Northern Light pointed out. Many other businesses. Most of the density at this time is west of the Allen. The point of cycling infrastructure on Marlee is not just to get Lawrence to Eglinton but to get to and between various points of interest on Marlee.

 

[Sauga89]

Marlee actually has stuff on it. Stores, dentists, medical clinics, pharmacies, hairdressers, restaurants, a school and will have many new condos as @Northern Light pointed out. Many other businesses. Most of the density at this time is west of the Allen. The point of cycling infrastructure on Marlee is not just to get Lawrence to Eglinton but to get to and between various points of interest on Marlee.

I wasn't campaigning against the Marlee bike lane, or the Beltline connection to be clear. I like what I've read about those. I was just wondering if there were better ways to get from Lawrence to Eglinton on your way to the lake than Marlee.