We need to talk about Lake Shore West

Sign reads "space for people" beside people riding bikes

If you want to see Lake Shore West reimagined as a safe, local street, please email City Council by June 14th and let them know you support short-term and long-term improvements to Lake Shore W and our Western Waterfront. 

Email City Council

Sample email here.

We’ve been asking for ActiveTO to become a permanent initiative in Toronto since its inception in 2020, and over five thousand people have signed our petition in agreement. While many of the ActiveTO bike lanes have become permanent because of their proven success, the major road openings have become less and less frequent even as we campaigned for permanent bike lanes on Lake Shore Boulevard W in 2021. 

Just last week, a person riding on the Martin Goodman Trail was seriously injured by a driver from Lake Shore W. In 2017, a five-year-old child was killed while riding their bike beside Lake Shore W. The measures taken did not change that the roadway on Lakeshore West is fundamentally dangerous by design.

We do not need a six to eight lane highway beside the Gardiner Expressway beside another arterial road: is this all we can imagine for the only western street that occupies our waterfront? The speeds people reach on Lake Shore W are unsafe for anyone. We need infrastructure changes now: temporary at first and then permanent further down the line through the Western Waterfront Master Plan. 

ActiveTO is a wonderful program, but we need to be able to access our city safely all the time and create real solutions that don’t sacrifice our waterfront.

Cycle Toronto is calling for:

  1. ActiveTO on Lake Shore W every weekend possible this summer, to welcome thousands of people of all ages and abilities to enjoy our waterfront safely and without noise and traffic pollution
  2. Reimagining Lake Shore W through traffic calming measures and repurposing two curb lanes to create a robust, protected bidirectional bike lane using crash-proof jersey barriers like what was used recently in the Port Lands. This will also create space and separation for people while ensuring people with mobility issues, the TTC, and others have driving access in both directions at all times
  3. Ensuring Lake Shore W becomes a Complete Street as part of the long-term Western Waterfront Master Plan, which will include dedicated space for people walking, wheeling, cycling, and using transit

Together, we can imagine a beautiful waterfront that keeps people moving safely and works better for everyone.

Keagan Gartz
Executive Director
Cycle Toronto

Sample Email

TO:

councilmeeting@toronto.ca, mayor_tory@toronto.ca

CC:

info@cycleto.ca

SUBJECT:

IE30.19 & IE30.15 I support ActiveTO and making Lake Shore Ave W into a people-first safe street

BODY:

Hello Councillors,

 

Having safe, accessible public spaces is important for the health and vibrancy of our City. We need to meet our TransformTO goals and we can’t hope to achieve this by giving massive amounts of public space to private vehicles causing greenhouse gas and noise pollution. This why I support the following actions:

  1. ActiveTO on Lake Shore W every weekend possible this summer, to welcome thousands of people of all ages and abilities to enjoy our waterfront safely and without noise and traffic pollution
  2. Reimagining Lake Shore W through traffic calming measures and repurposing two curb lanes to create a robust, protected bidirectional bike lane using crash-proof jersey barriers like what was used recently in the Port Lands. This will also create space and separation for people walking and wheeling and people cycling while ensuring drivers have access in both directions at all times
  3. Ensuring Lake Shore W becomes a Complete Street as part of the long-term Western Waterfront Master Plan, which will include dedicated space for people walking, wheeling, cycling, and using transit

Thank you for your leadership,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR POSTAL CODE]

By ry.shissler@cycleto.ca on May 20, 2022

  Keep ActiveTO, ActiveTO