New bike lanes had big effects, study says
Fresh additions, some spurred by pandemic, found to ease access to work, parks, groceries
Toronto’s decision to expand its cycling network last year in response to COVID-19 made it easier for thousands of residents to access important destinations like workplaces and grocery stores by bike, according to a new study.
The University of Toronto researchers behind the study say the findings suggest keeping the temporary lanes installed last summer on streets like Bloor Street East, Danforth Avenue, and University Avenue would help ensure the city is more accessible and cycle-friendly.
“It was a huge impact for a small, quick investment,” said Shoshanna Saxe, Canada Research Chair in sustainable infrastructure and senior author of the study, which appears in the journal Transport Findings.
As the pandemic took hold last spring, Toronto followed other cities around the world in significantly enlarging its bike lane network in order to give citizens a way to safely exercise outdoors and avoid public transit.
Council in May approved spending $6.5 million on 25 kilometres of temporary on-street bike lanes in 2020, which taken with already approved projects brought Toronto’s one-year expansion to 40 kilometres, the largest single-year build-out in the city’s history.
To measure the lanes’ impact, the researchers classified each roadway in the city according to how stressful it is to cycle on. Streets that children could safely ride on were given the lowest rating of 1, while those where only “strong and fearless” cyclists would feel comfortable were rated 4, the highest. Factors that determined the ratings included road width, traffic speed and the presence of cycling infrastructure.
The researchers measured how many people, jobs, food stores and parks could
be reached by a 30-minute bike ride on roads rated Level 2 or lower, which matches the general population’s cycling comfort level.
The study found that citywide, the new bike lanes increased low-stress cycling access to people and jobs by 10.4 and 22.3 per cent respectively. They also provided new cycling access to food stores to more than 54,000 people, and made parks more accessible to more than 3,000 people.
While the city hasn’t released ridership counts for all the new lanes, Saxe said the new infrastructure will likely boost Toronto cycling rates because previous research indicates people are more likely to take up riding if they think they can reach their destinations safely.
“If we’re working towards the goal of a city that provides more opportunities for more people, that works towards our sustainability commitments, that likes to have good infrastructure that’s not super expensive, these lanes are win, win, win,” Saxe said.
The positive effects of the bike lanes were most pronounced downtown, where they intersect with pre-existing cycling routes. However, the researchers found lanes in the suburbs also had benefits.
The cycle tracks installed on a fourkilometre stretch of Brimley Road in Scarborough provided new low-stress cycling access to food stores for close to 15,000 people. The city removed the lanes in December after finding they significantly increased travel time for drivers.
Some lanes installed last year, like
those on Bloor Street West between Shaw Street and Runnymede Road, are permanent. Others, like those on University Avenue, Dundas Street East and Danforth Avenue, were implemented on a trial basis under Toronto’s ActiveTO program.
The ActiveTO lanes are scheduled to remain at least until the end of 2021, but city staff are expected to report back this fall with recommendations for their future. Separately, staff plan to make recommendations early this year on plans for the 2021 ActiveTO program, including temporary closures of major roads, installation of quiet streets and the potential acceleration of bike-network expansion.
City spokesperson Deborah Blackstone said in an email the University of Toronto study’s findings “are encouraging and reinforce key objectives” of Toronto’s cycling plan.