BENA has advocated for cycling lanes on Bloor Street East to connect from Sherbourne to those on Bloor Street West for a umber of years. The issue of safe and separated passage of pedestrians and cyclists along this strip has been an issue raised repeatedly at our meetings, including our Annual General Meetings.

BENA has always been an advocate for the safe passage of all forms of transportation on our shared streets and sidewalks. Street sharrow markings and a redesign of our streetscape, including cycling lanes, has long been a community goal that has been difficult to realize. Councillor Wong-Tam has been steadfast in her support of these, in spite of the regular cancellation and their delay. But their time has come! We are excited to finally have the temporary cycling lanes and are excited to celebrate them with you, and the Councillors that represent our catchment area who have been instrumental in their realization.

Although these lanes are temporary, the expectation is that they will become permanent when Bloor Street East is rebuilt in a few years. We need only witness the volume of cycling traffic that proves they are a great success!

Information on the Bike Lanes may be found at https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-protect-yourself-others/covid-19-reduce-virus-spread/covid-19-activeto/covid-19-activeto-expanding-the-cycling-network/

 Any feedback is welcome and may be emailed to active_TO@toronto.ca, or by calling 311. Please also share this feedback with BENA at info@blooreast.org.

 On behalf of BENA, I look forward to welcoming you to the official ribbon cutting as noted above.