City council approves permanent Yonge Street bike lanes in midtown Toronto

The bike lanes on Yonge Street in midtown Toronto are here to stay.

Councillors voted to approve making the pilot project permanent in a council vote on Wednesday. The project includes separated bike lanes along Yonge between Bloor Street and Davisville Avenue.

The plan also includes several changes the City says will address concerns raised by area residents and businesses (full list below). The modifications include changing traffic signals to improve traffic flow and finding additional parking and loading spaces.

Some residents in the neighbourhood have complained of an increase in traffic congestion. Those opposed to the bike lanes have put up lawn signs to express their concerns and have taken part in public consultations.

City officials say average drive times in both directions are now less than a minute longer than they were pre-pandemic, with travel times up by less than 70 seconds in the peak periods in the morning and afternoon.

Since the start of the project in April 2021, the City says data suggests the number of bike trips through the stretch have increased between 57 and 250 per cent, and pedestrian trips have increased between 59 and 145 per cent.

The data claims outdoor dining spaces along the corridor, part of the city’s CafeTO program, have doubled since 2020.

Changes from the city aimed to address concerns raised by residents:

• Traffic signal and physical intersection modifications to better facilitate traffic flow, turn movements and pedestrian safety
• Additional parking and loading spaces to support local business
• Creating a dedicated traffic management plan as it relates to construction, current and projected, in the corridor, including the deployment of traffic agents as needed
• Install LED signs at Yonge and Delisle to prohibit left-turns during prohibited times to support shuttle bus operations
• Directing staff to continue to identify opportunities to improve traffic flow including traffic signal and physical intersection modifications to better facilitate traffic flow and turn movements, opportunities to mitigate concerns with traffic diversion onto local roads to improve safety and traffic flow, particularly to improve sight-lines and ingress/egress for east/west streets at “landlocked” intersections in the area, where feasible
• Working with local Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) on initiatives to support main street local business, including identifying and implementing additional parking and loading spaces, where feasible
• Identify opportunities to improve safety and attractiveness of the corridor in a way such as transforming painted curb extensions and buffers into concrete or planted islands, where feasible
• As part of the development review process along the corridor, work with City Planning and adjacent developers to incorporate upgrades such as raised cycle tracks and green infrastructure into the streetscape frontages redevelopment sites, where feasible, and minimize the impact of construction work zones in the right-of-way
• Requesting Emergency Management Services and Toronto Fire Services to provide granular data regarding response times in the project area