A last-ditch effort to save Jarvis Street’s bike lanes failed on Tuesday. Here’s a look back at the entire ordeal.
Toronto’s most contentious road markings are doomed once and for all, as a last-ditch effort to save Jarvis Street’s bike lanes failed on Tuesday. Here, we trace the debate’s key developments—and evaluate whether cyclists or drivers came out on top, each step of the way.
Early 2009: City Hall reveals plans to make Jarvis more neighbourhood-friendly by removing a traffic lane, widening sidewalks, and planting trees. Community consultations include many cycling advocates, who lobby hard for bike lanes.
May 25, 2009: Council votes 28-16 for bike lanes. This effectively quashes other improvements by using all the width of the eliminated fifth traffic lane.
July 2010: Lanes installed!
Oct. 2010: Bike-lane foe Rob Ford wins mayoral election.
Apr. 2011: Studies show that auto trips have become only about two minutes longer, while cycling usage has tripled on Jarvis.
July 2011: Councillor Karen Stintz relates a teary story to city council about how traffic delays caused by the lanes prevent uptown parents from making it home for dinner. Council votes to remove the lanes.
Apr. 2012: Lane advocates claim removal will require an environmental assessment.
Sept. 2012: The province rules that an assessment isn’t needed, and removal can proceed.
Oct. 2012: An attempt by pro-lane councillors to stall removal until the nearby Sherbourne lanes are completed in 2014 fails—the lanes are coming out.
