City Council has voted 36 to 6 Tuesday to make the bike lanes on Bloor St. West from Shaw St. to Avenue Rd. permanent. The decision could be seen coming by almost anyone when the idea was proposed as a pilot more than a year ago. It may well make cycling safer on Bloor (we hope so) although the unasked question which looms over any such accomplishment is by how much. The number of bicycle-car collisions is said to be about the same, but no number is given. Where the cyclists go when Bloor turns into the Bloor-Yorkville BIA east of Avenue Rd. is unaddressed, as is their safety. In a similar way, statistics repeated in the media more or less justifying today’s decision seemed oddly vague related to real numbers. “Near misses” were down in percentage terms not actual incidents, nor was there a defintion of the term. This line taken from the CP24 story quoting City statistics seems typically unhelpful in knowing pubic sentiment.
In an online survey of approximately 14,000 people, 92 per cent of respondents who say they bike along Bloor Street were in favour of the lanes. Of the respondents who said they drive and don’t cycle, 57 per cent are not in favour of bike lanes on Bloor.
