[Towered]

Don't forget that there needs to be a sufficiently wide buffer to ensure that the bike lane isn't in the door zone from parked cars. As it is, the lane is barely wide enough. Anecdotally, I was biking on Bloor the other day and was barely able to make it around a pickup truck parked next to the bike lane with its passenger side door open. It's also important to have enough space to be able to dodge hazards like glass or sewer grates, and in an ideal world, there'd be enough room for to overtake another person on a bike without going into the car lane. So there are a few reasons you'd want wider lanes, but as @Northern Light mentioned, these lanes aren't even that wide.

I cycle along Bloor frequently and I agree, the lanes are not wide, so I'm not sure what @Amare is on about. You can't even pass slow cyclists, which I find rather frustrating.

 

[just east of the creek]

I don't think the majority of the bike lanes are particularly wide:

View attachment 413550

That certainly doesn't seem at all excessive to me, in fact, there's limited room for proper buffering/separation in the wb direction in this pic.

If its desirable here to have wider travel lanes and/or more turn lanes, there's really one answer for that, the parking needs to come out.

I'm certainly open to that, but I'm not sure its a can of worms that demands near-term reopening either.

On street parking on major routes, such as Bloor, should be eliminated. Toronto suffers from a surplus of narrow sidewalks and narrow bike lanes (and not just TO). Allowances for transit - yes. Allowance for Emergency Vehicles - yes. Allowance for service vehicles - yes. Car drivers, and yes I am one of those transiting into areas of Toronto, are going to have to learn to adjust to the realities of a people centered neighborhood, as opposed to an SUV centered neighborhood. I can accept that as I see the benefits to the neighborhood far outweigh the negatives. But I think this is going to require a strong political push to attain.

 

[Amare]

I cycle along Bloor frequently and I agree, the lanes are not wide, so I'm not sure what @Amare is on about. You can't even pass slow cyclists, which I find rather frustrating.

If these lanes arent wide enough, i'm not sure what you would think of even more narrow lanes such as the ones on Royal York Rd in the west end. I've cycled on lanes much narrower and although it's not safety inspiring, it's been doable.

Depends what section you are speaking about in particular, some parts are narrow too. I frequent Bloor in the central part of the city where there are many big vehicles due to all the construction and haven't seen any issues. Any particular area you are thinking about?

The area I had in mind was from Runnymede to around Dundas and Bloor that is particularly wide. It doesnt work for through traffic, or parking. It's like the city is trying to marry and accommodate everyone and frankly in my opinion it's not working smoothly.

On street parking on major routes, such as Bloor, should be eliminated. Toronto suffers from a surplus of narrow sidewalks and narrow bike lanes (and not just TO). Allowances for transit - yes. Allowance for Emergency Vehicles - yes. Allowance for service vehicles - yes. Car drivers, and yes I am one of those transiting into areas of Toronto, are going to have to learn to adjust to the realities of a people centered neighborhood, as opposed to an SUV centered neighborhood. I can accept that as I see the benefits to the neighborhood far outweigh the negatives. But I think this is going to require a strong political push to attain.

This is something I completely agree on and i've been pushing for. I dont understand why we have front parking on major arterials like Bloor, Danforth, Queen etc. If the city was bold we would be pushing for more Green P parking (if really required) either at the rear of buildings like we see along stretches of Bloor West, or underground. Unfortunately when we have status quo and unambitious politicians at the helm, the change wont happen anytime soon.

 

[Towered]

If these lanes arent wide enough, i'm not sure what you would think of even more narrow lanes such as the ones on Royal York Rd in the west end.

I cycle on Royal York every day. The current conditions of lines painted on asphalt calling themselves bike lanes is unacceptable. They need to be widened, with a protective barrier added. Full stop.

 

[crs1026]

I cycle on Royal York every day. The current conditions of lines painted on asphalt calling themselves bike lanes is unacceptable. They need to be widened, with a protective barrier added. Full stop.

You're braver than me.... I find another route. Not safe enough for these bones.

- Paul

 

[vz64]

You're braver than me.... I find another route. Not safe enough for these bones.

- Paul

Interesting! I find Royal York as one of the safest (for me..) roads to cycle in Toronto. The bike lane is a bit narrow, but not too narrow. The passing cars can see you well and don't cut you at intersections. With protective barriers it would be too narrow!! I don't like Bloor or Yonge protected bike lanes: they are too narrow, restricted, and convoluted with tons of obstacles and right-turning traffic trying to kill you.. Nothing of this sort happens on Royal York, I can cycle safely at 30-40km/h. On Bloor, even 20 km/h is not safe.. A protected lane should be wider to be safe, something like Bayview bike lane south of Pottery Rd.

 

[crs1026]

Interesting! I find Royal York as one of the safest (for me..) roads to cycle in Toronto. The bike lane is a bit narrow, but not too narrow. The passing cars can see you well and don't cut you at intersections. With protective barriers it would be too narrow!! I don't like Bloor or Yonge protected bike lanes: they are too narrow, restricted, and convoluted with tons of obstacles and right-turning traffic trying to kill you.. Nothing of this sort happens on Royal York, I can cycle safely at 30-40km/h. On Bloor, even 20 km/h is not safe.. A protected lane should be wider to be safe, something like Bayview bike lane south of Pottery Rd.

It has some OK stretches, but north of Bloor and down around the High Schools, the many stopping buses are a pain. And up close to Dundas is also hairy because motorists speed up where the road widens, and there are on and off ramps.

- Paul

 

[afransen]

If these lanes arent wide enough, i'm not sure what you would think of even more narrow lanes such as the ones on Royal York Rd in the west end. I've cycled on lanes much narrower and although it's not safety inspiring, it's been doable.

Dutch design standard for one way cycle path is minimum 2m width to allow for passing. A path with >150 riders per hour should be minimum 2.5m. Of course, nowhere in North America really tries to meet such a standard, but we can't complain about bike lanes being too wide unless they are above to basic minimum that is accepted in NL.