I believe the real problem here is the infrastructure in Toronto and the GTA is so very poorly designed. This includes everything from road space, transit, and sidewalks. Everything it seems was done with just the minimum required space. Now they are taking that which was used by cars and section off for bike lanes, then more section off for transit. It is ridiculous, squeezing more into less space. It doesn't work and the frustration levels of commuters is rising and people are more concerned about pushing through it and making bad decisions.
I haven't driven downtown much in the past couple of years but more recently have been down there and the sidewalks are completely crowded. Bike lanes really need a separate physical spaces away from cars. This whole idea of painting a lines on the road for bike lanes is a joke. All of this is just going to get worse as they keep planning the same way all over the GTA and there doesn' look like they are truly addressing any long term issues. The city is heading towards what looks like complete grid lock.
Sent from the moon!
Toronto streets were almost fully developed by the time the bicycle / exercise revolution came a long in the late 1960's. I doubt that the people in charge saw the increase in activity as something of concern so planners continued the same old. Bicycles were for kids.
In short our streets and sidewalks were designed for transportation not recreation. Fine for driving to work and shopping with the sidewalks for the pedestrians wanting to walk.
Now we have joggers, bicycles, skateboards, Pogo sticks, hover-boards and more on the sidewalks. In my neighbourhood with good sidewalks some joggers run on the road. I guess it makes them feel important, like they're running the Boston Marathon.
The streets and highways weren't designed for M/C rides either.
Deregulation put more trucks on the same streets. The streets didn't get bigger.
In most of Toronto there is no room for more lanes. It's what you can take away from others, ie bikes on sidewalks. You would have to take down the Eaton Centre to widen Yonge Street. It isn't going to happen.
Don't forget winter where a lot of bicycles get put away. Now we have a situation where we have to pay for a high seasonal load that only gets used half the year.
Most people want to get to work feeling and looking fresh. How many workplaces have showers and change rooms?
Public transit improvements are the only solution but provincial growth hasn't made improvement easy. How do you make public transit feasible for a community built in the middle of nowhere with the inhabitants working downtown?
Big box malls means you can't walk to the local hardware store for a nail. Drive instead. Want to see bad road planning? Look at the road network around big box malls.
It has no hope of improving in the foreseeable future.
