Letters to the Editor: Including bike lanes means Danforth Avenue can have it all

To The Editor:

The first of six public consultation meetings for the Danforth Complete Street and Planning study showed just how passionate our community members are about the east end.

Close to 400 residents and business owners listened as the City of Toronto and Dillon Consulting walked the crowd through the different phases of the project.

Looking not only at economic, heritage, and community concerns, the study also looks at complete streets—streets designed to be safe for everyone: people who walk, bicycle, take transit, or drive, and people of all ages and abilities.

Too often, issues around street safety are posed as an argument between two sides but we know it doesn’t have to be this way.

Like many others, I want a vibrant, accessible Danforth where my family feels safe visiting restaurants and businesses regardless of how we choose to get there.

I believe that a bike lane pilot on Danforth Avenue will show us just what a complete street on Danforth can look like.

We have overwhelming evidence that bike lanes can work for residents and business.

According to the Bloor Street West Bike Lane Pilot Project Evaluation, consumer spending went up after the installation of the Bloor bike lanes, as did the number of customers along the bike lane corridor.

Not only that but collision rates between all road users, including between drivers themselves, have significantly reduced. That’s a win-win.

The same can happen on The Danforth.

Let’s move forward and work together to support a pilot bike lane on Danforth in 2020.

Contact your councillor. Sign the pledge at DanforthLovesBikes.ca

Danforth can have it all.

Dave Edwards
On behalf of
32 Spokes,
Ward 19’s cycling
advocacy group

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