North York bike lane plan to be debated
Proposal looks to reduce stretch of Yonge from six vehicle lanes to four and widen sidewalks A plan recommending separated bike lanes on Yonge St. in Willowdale will finally be debated in late February, after the clock ran out on a lengthy public hearing on the plan at Friday’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.
REimagining Yonge is a $51.5-million plan to revitalize Yonge St. for pedestrians, between Sheppard Ave. and just north of Finch Ave. The centrepiece is a controversial proposal to reduce the busy stretch of Yonge St. from six lanes to just four, in order to widen sidewalks and build separated bike lanes.
The committee was to have made recommendations on Friday — but they ran up against the city’s iron-clad “sunset clause,” which requires meetings to end 90 minutes before sunset on Fridays to allow for religious observances. By the time 3:30 p.m. rolled around, there were still10 of 26 deputations left and the committee adjourned. At that time, the committee had heard plenty from the public — including some well-known political figures from past and present.
Patricia (Patty) Starr, the former head of Ontario Place and political fundraiser jailed in the early1990s for election fraud, spoke on behalf of a coalition of residents led by former city councillor Norm Gardner, suggesting that the report had been rammed through without adequate consultation by Willowdale Councillor John Filion.
She suggested that the large Korean population was not consulted and that public meetings did not offer necessary translation services. “It’s being railroaded,” she said. Former city councillor Doug Ford, who is running for mayor later this year, spoke to the committee in opposition to the Yonge St. bike lanes.
“People are terrified in North York (that) Yonge St. is going to be destroyed like they destroyed Bloor St., like they destroyed King St., like they destroyed Woodbine (Ave.),” Ford said. “It’s war on the car, it’s anti-car.”
Alasdair Robertson, of the Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association, spoke on behalf of communities just north of Finch Ave. W., where Yonge St. would narrow from six lanes to four.
He said that would drive traffic through those neighbourhoods seeking a detour, and like many, including Mayor John Tory, supported a plan to keep Yonge St. at six lanes and build bike lanes on Beecroft Rd. — part of the North York service road that was built with the intention of removing traffic from Yonge St.
He pointed out that traffic originating from north of Steeles Ave. will in all likelihood continue to increase as York Region continues to approve more housing.
The committee also heard from supporters of the plan, several of whom live in the affected area between Sheppard Ave. and Finch Ave. Local resident Stephen Biggs said that a wide Yonge St. might have made sense “at a certain point in time, but we’re not in a 1970s suburb anymore.”
Biggs said that Yonge St. as it is is “noisy, it’s windy and it’s dusty. It’s not a place where people want to go.”Pedram Rahbari said that his wife owns a business on Yonge St., and the six lanes of traffic does her business no favours.
“Anyone who does retail knows that cars don’t visit retail, people do,” he said. “The volume of traffic is not helping businesses, and with the noise and air quality, the patios are useless.”
The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee will continue the debate at the special Feb. 27 meeting and will also hear from additional members of the public who may wish to weigh in.