As Toronto installs new cycling infrastructure on streets like Richmond, Adelaide and Simcoe, the city is finally getting serious about cracking down on drivers who park in the bike lane. The new downtown bike lanes, the first of which will be officially open on Simcoe St. come July 9th, are set to feature a combination of pavement warnings and street-side signs that inform drivers of the $150 fine for blocking cycling traffic. In addition to the signage, parking enforcement will engage in periodic blitzes to prove that there's teeth behind the warnings.

As we recently pointed out, such fines aren't applicable to all vehicles who park in the bike lane, but the increased desire to crack down on obstinate drivers bodes well for the success of the pilot project. According to the Toronto Star, the city is also curious to see whether or not enforcement measures can prove just as much a deterrent as a physical barrier separating bike lanes. If there's a downside to all this it's that the city will be focusing most of of its energy on the area covered by the pilot and not bike lanes at large.

What do you think? Will these measures work to prevent parking in the bike lane?

Photo by Martin Reis in the blogTO Flickr pool.