Toronto cyclists upset with city for failing to clear snow from bike lanes
Complaints of icy, snow-covered, inaccessible bike lanes have been pouring in from around the city this week following Toronto's most-recent winter (er, technically spring) storm.
The City of Toronto says that crews have been working around the clock to keep roads, bridges, walkways and, yes, bike lanes safe in recent days — but there's a lot of repair work still being done as a result of the storm.
Did anyone else encounter a snowy bike commute this morning? @311Toronto @TO_Cycling Any suggestions for cyclists travelling in bike lanes on their way home tonight?📍Adelaide & Bathurst #biketo 🚴♀️ pic.twitter.com/oMvBA8G1jp
— Onlia (@OnliaCA) April 17, 2018
Mayor John Tory reminded the city in a press release on Monday that our "patience and cooperation" is appreciated.
Patience is wearing thin for many, however, as winter drags on and on and on...
Dude, where’s my bike lane? I appreciate there was a big storm but roads have been cleared and even the bike lanes designated for priority maintenance (like Wellesley here) are still full of snow and ice chunks. ❄️🚲 @311Toronto @TO_Transport @CycleToronto #bikeTO #VisionZero pic.twitter.com/zKVSMBYfQm
— Jay Wall, RGD (@Jay_Wall) April 17, 2018
Aside from the hardcore all-weather bikers we see out in January and February, most cyclists would just be getting back on their bikes for the season now.
A lot of people had already switched up their method of commute, in fact, when the ice storm came blasting through late last week.
#ToPoli priorities are shown after the #OnStorm. #biketo lane completely obstructed by hard packed snow/ice. Sidewalk, half full of snow/ice. #walkto Driving - barely a hint of snow. pic.twitter.com/O9twbv85dP
— 🌈 Papa Andy ✨🚲 (@pedalpapa) April 17, 2018
This might explain why people seem particularly irritated about this snow-in-the-lanes during spring business (especially when the city has proven it can keep up with clearing lanes in the dead of winter).
Toronto's 311 Twitter account has been taking a lot of heat today over the uncleared lanes, and cyclists continue to notify their councillors, city officials and even the TTC about existing bike blockages.
Bike lane on College from Ossington to Bay not cleared, bikes forced into traffic. @311Toronto #biketo #visionzero pic.twitter.com/FcmhUu8kw6
— Jason Timermanis (@timermanis) April 17, 2018
"We have heard our residents' frustrations with the ongoing efforts to clean up from this weekend's ice storm and have raised those concerns with City staff," reads a joint statement from Tory and Public Works chair Jaye Robinson.
"We have directed them to deploy all available resources and to secure additional resources to help deal with the remnants of this storm as quickly as possible," continues the statement, which was published in a press release on Tuesday afternoon.
Sherbourne #biketo lane this morning. When will this be cleared @311Toronto? Is everything @JohnTory says aabout #VisionZero a lie? pic.twitter.com/D0m3SK2zLW
— Mike Scott (@mscott71) April 17, 2018
"Transportation crews have been working 24/7 since Friday to deal with the storm and its aftermath."
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