ActiveTO

While ActiveTO was created as a pandemic response, we know that something magical happened that will last far beyond the pandemic — something that was measurable (anywhere from 20,000-36,000 people per day using active travel on our waterfront!), and immeasurable at the same time. It brought families out to enjoy our beaches and boardwalks, our parks and our streets, and our beautiful Great Lake. It gave us the opportunity to imagine more for the future of what our western waterfront could be.

UPDATE: Read our letter to City Council on Lake Shore West interventions here.

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. 

This could be the reality for cycling across much more of Toronto with your support.

City Council’s final Infrastructure and Environment Committee (IEC) meeting of the year is on December 2, and the agenda includes hundreds of pages of City staff recommendations related to cycling under three broad categories. 

Lake Shore Boulevard W is busier when open to people than when it's only for cars on weekends

Over the long weekend, Councillor Ford suggested cancelling ActiveTO — eliminating space for people. We responded on TV, radio, and in print that ActiveTO needs to stay, not be removed; the weekend ActiveTO road openings introduced space for people, relieving perpetually crowded multi-use trails, and scrapping the program means going back to packed, uncomfortable trails, increasing conflicts between users.

Bike Share Toronto station at the University of Toronto Scarborough

There have been exciting developments with Bike Share Toronto in the last week! 

On Sunday, May 16 — the first weekend that ActiveTO opened Lake Shore Boulevard W in 2021 — Bike Share set a new single day record of over 27,000 rides! The Bike Boom is still going strong and we aim to keep it that way.

Yesterday, the City released its agenda for the Infrastructure and Environment Committee (IEC). It shows what we can expect from both temporary ActiveTO projects and permanent cycling projects proposed for this year.

Read on about what's proposed and what we recommend for:

People walk and cycle on Bayview Ave during a weekend road closure. Photo by Robin Pueyo.

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If you’ve had a chance to ride your bike in any of the new bike lanes installed last summer through ActiveTO, it’s easy to see just how much more comfortable these streets are to ride your bike on. They’re less dangerous, less stressful routes to get from your home to the grocery store or wherever else you want to go. It opens up the neighbourhoods around you. 

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