Bike Lanes: Illegal Parking & Other Hazards

There is perhaps nothing quite as dangerous or frustrating for cyclists as having to skirt around cars and trucks illegally parked in bike lanes, including bike lanes that are the product of many years of advocacy. The motorists’ excuse often amounts to little more than “I’ll only be a minute.” Of course, it takes mere seconds for a person on a bike --- including a child, novice rider, or elderly person --- to be hit and injured when they are forced to skirt around an illegally parked car into live motor traffic lanes.

The hazard posed by illegally parked cars motivates us to continue our push for action. Since the founding of Community Bikeways, we’ve been exploring all possible avenues for remedial action and engaged a variety of officials and decision-makers, including city councillors, Transportation Services staff, the Toronto Police Service, Parking Enforcement Officers, ride-hailing services, and merchants themselves (Please see our list of actions that should be explored.)

More work will be needed.

Not far behind the problem of illegal parking in terms of imperilling or frustrating city residents on bikes, is the problem of construction projects that block bike lanes but provide no safe alternative passage. In some cases, the city now provides detours for cyclists, but the detours very much have the feel of make-believe, such as in the case of a detour that was posted in the summer of 2022 for Queen’s Park. The construction zone in that case is about 50 metres long, but the detour is 1.7 km!

We continue to work with city transportation officials with a goal to see the development of clearly articulated, enforceable rules along with opportunities for public engagement to protect people on bikes, on foot, or reliant on mobility devices.

We also continue to monitor the quality and safety of bike lanes, including new bike lanes such as those installed by Metrolinx, and approved by City Hall, along Eglinton Ave East between Brentcliffe and Kennedy Roads. In the summer of 2022, a young man riding his bike suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck while riding on the bike lane where it is crossed by the access ramp to the Don Valley Parkway.