Getting bike lanes & bike facilities in your community

Why get a bike lane?

Bike lanes serve many functions on a residential street. While it helps cyclists feel safer and more welcome, it also helps to slow down traffic speeds as well.

The benefits of bike lanes

Most cyclists feel safer - they don't have to fight for space on the road, and the lines on the road help motorists leave cyclists more room when they pass. 

More convenient to use when car traffic is clogging the road.

Reducing traffic speed in an area - bike lanes take up excess road space or parking space. The result is often a more narrow lane for cars, or fewer cars lanes. This reduces traffic speed.

Better visibility for cyclists - the lane is a constant reminder that there are cyclists on the road, even when the lane is not in use.

Increased number of cyclists - the TCCC survey of cyclists on the Bloor St. Viaduct indicated that 95% of respondents feel safer on the Viaduct with the bike lanes, and 76% make more cycling trips because of them.
 
 

How roads are designed

When a bike lane is to be added to a street, planners evaluate what can be removed from the street:

	reducing the number of parking spaces
	reduce the width of the car lanes
	remove a travel lane for cars

Most roads are designed to accommodate the peak volume of cars, like a flash flood. The result is that most roads have excess space most of the time. Planners who try and integrate bike lanes into existing roads often look at the intersection as a main bottleneck for traffic. Planners may decide to add a turning lane to speed traffic through the intersection, while reducing the number of car lanes.

Planners often have to balance parking needs with buses, cars and bikes. 
 
 

How are bike lanes designed?

A standard bike lane is:

	1.5 meters wide
	on the road next to the curb
	separated by traffic by a painted white line
	identified by signs and a bicycle stencil painted on the pavement

Bikes lanes and parking

Ideally, a bike lane is right next to the curb, however, some lanes are adjacent to parked cars. When parking is considered necessary, often by retailers who worry that less parking will result in fewer customers, the bike lane will be 1.8 to 2 metres wide, to help cyclists keep a safe distance from the parked cars.
 
 

Toronto's bike lane priorities

Currently, City planners are trying to develop a network of bike lanes across Toronto. They are starting with streets that already have a high volume of cyclists, in order to meet the highest demand. However, some high volume streets - such as Queen and Bloor St., are difficult to adapt for bike lanes because the streets are quite narrow.

The City Cycling Committee has plans for complete routes across Toronto. Most of these plans have not yet been implemented, but the goal is to create a network in the central areas of Toronto where bike lanes are no more than 1 km apart, and 2 kms apart in the outer areas. Although many more bike trips will take place outside of these lanes, they provide an alternative for cyclists who like to use them.
 
 

Transit lanes

For commercial streets with bus routes, a transit lane may be created. It's primary purpose is to help buses move through peak traffic volume, however, bicycles will be allowed in the lane. For example, a transit lane on Bay St was built as wide as possible to accommodate buses, taxis and bikes.
 
 

Neighbourhood bike facilities

It's important to make all streets safe and bike friendly, regardless of the bike lanes. 

Check for the following bicycle facilities in your neighbourhood

	New sewer grates - for the past 10 years the city has been replacing the old grates that would trap a bike tire and replacing them with grates that are safe to ride across. Does your street have these grates? Are they at grade and, if possible, outside the expected area of bike travel?
	Painting the curb lane wider than the central lanes, so there's more room for cars to pass by cyclists.
	Road construction steel plates have to have a rough surface so cyclists can ride over them without slipping.
	At road construction sites, where signs required cyclists to dismount, they now ask cyclists and motorists to use caution - recognizing cyclists as vehicles.
	Exempting bicycles from the "no left turn" signs onto residential streets. These signs were designed to reduce cut-through traffic in residential neighbourhoods, not prevent bicycles from having access to side-streets.
	Evaluate your street for accident potential - are intersections clearly marked? Do railway and streetcar tracks cross the road at a dangerous angle for bikes? Is there a paved shoulder on the side of the road where cyclists can safely stop for repairs?
	Bike activated traffic signals. Many traffic signals are demand-activated, either by pressing a pedestrian button to cross, or a detector build into the roads that is activated when a car runs over it. These road detectors can be recalibrated to respond to the presence of a bike. Three dots can be painted at the intersection so cyclists will know where to place their bikes to activate the signals.
	Allowing bicycles through streets that are closed to cars (to divert car traffic), so bicyclists and pedestrians can enjoy car-free streets.
	Bike parking in your neighbourhood. This can happen quite quickly if you call the Dept. of Public Works and the Environment at 392-7711. Ask for a request form and specify the desired location of the bike parking spot. It must be on public property where there's 6 or 7 feet of clear space. Few residential streets have wide enough (10 ft) sidewalks for this, so a corner location might be best. They are installed between the spring and fall, so call early to get your request in.
	Bike parking at home. 52% of all bike thefts occur from a home (1) so it's worthwhile to think about getting secure parking on your property. Public parking isn't intended for home use, but you can get bike parking systems just like the public ones. Some places to try are Bicycle Parking Systems at 416-531-6461, that sells a 2-bike horizontal stand for about $150. PM Design at 905-669-9556 sells the post and ring style stands. You can also make your own bike locker or garage on your porch or in your back yard.

Get rid of potholes and hazards. To report hazardous road conditions (such as glass, debris and potholes, call the 392-7737 (for City of Toronto streets) or 392-5555 (for Metro streets). If in doubt, try the City first. To report hazardous trail conditions, call 392-7251 for City of Toronto trails (Martin Goodman and Lower Don Trail south of Riverdale Park) and 392-8186 for Metro Trails (Central Don, Wilket Creek, Taylor Creek and Humber River). Be prepared to give them an accurate description (eg. 10 metres south of this intersection,in front of 33 Donway St.). When you're calling about a trail, try and describe it in terms of a major landmark nearby.
 

Bringing a bike lane into my community

At this point, the plans for bike lanes in Toronto haven't reached the details of dealing with small, residential streets. Right now, high volume streets are the highest priority.

You can contact the TCCC (392-1556) to see if there are already plans for bike lanes in your community. If there are no plans, you can suggest your neighbourhood as a good place for bike lanes. It helps the TCCC to know what kind of support or resistance their might be to residential lanes. For example, even if bike lanes won't reduce parking spaces, it might be inconvenient for people to not be able to stop in front of their homes. 

You should remember that making a bike lane can be very slow, it can take up to 2 years to implement the changes.
 
 

Getting linked up in your neighbourhood

Join the neighbourhood traffic committee of your resident's association. Quite often, these committees deal with traffic plans or parking needs. There may be plans in the works to traffic calm the street. Find out how bicyclist's needs can be accommodated in your neighbourhood. 

Talk to other cyclists around where you live and think about what facilities your neighbourhood needs.

Join the TCCC bike planning sub-committee (392-1143) to see what's happening in the city. You can also get involved with Metro By Cycle (750-9107) to get involved with making cycle-friendly changes to Metro roads and planning.

Get on the mailing list for the TCCC's newsletter The Cyclometer, which is free to Toronto residents. This newsletter will keep you in touch with other plans and changes happening in Toronto.
 
 

1. Profile of Bike Commuter Facilities by the City of Toronto, Bike to Work Week Survey, 1991.

by Regan McClure