While Toronto may be known for having overly aggressive motorists and far too many tragic pedestrian deaths, it seems police are more focused on a different, slower type of road user these days: cyclists. 

Earlier this week, the Toronto Police 22 Division posted photos on Facebook showing officers using radar guns to track the speed of cyclists travelling down a bike path in south Etobicoke. 

"Did you know that bicycle paths in south Etobicoke have a speed limit?" reads the post. "22 Division community officers in partnership with councillor @mark.grimes have been in the parks educating about #speeding, #safety and #community concerns."

The photos also show several signs that indicate a speed limit of 20 km per hour for bikers along with a large message saying "Slow down."

Since they were originally posted on Facebook just two days ago, the photos have been shared all over social media and drawn all kinds of criticism, with many questioning how and why the police are putting resources towards cyclists speeding when there are far more pressing issues. 

Glad to see Toronto Police devoting resources and officer hours towards the real and pressing epidemic of cyclists being killed by other cyclists riding at 26 km/h https://t.co/Ssk9zdX0t8

— Rahul Kalvapalle (@Kalvapalle) October 8, 2020

"My little brother was killed by a guy who was texting and driving. TPS barely does traffic enforcement. I can't describe how angry this useless waste of time exercise makes me," wrote Torontonian on Twitter.

"Is the Toronto Police Force trolling us?" wrote another. "We will not do a THING about cars speeding down your street which has a school on it, or deadly intersections, or near deadly intersections, but hey, bicycles and chalk messages that say mean things about US, we're on it!"

In response to some of the angry messages flooding in on social media, and there have been hundreds, the Toronto police wrote that the initiative was meant to raise awareness following concerns expressed by members of the public and local city councillor Mark Grimes. 

"Officers were there to increase awareness & educate people after a number of concerns were raised by the community, including fellow cyclists, & a councillor," they wrote. "The speed radars were used purely for education & not enforcement. We received a positive response from residents."

But many are pointing out that Grimes has not historically been the most pedestrian/cyclist-friendly councillor in the city, and that, in reality, speeding drivers pose a much greater risk to the safety of local residents than bikers on a quiet path. 

That Councillor would be @Mark_Grimes, the same one who voted against our #VisionZero plan, who opposes safe spaces for his #walkto residents & who put up 35 of these #biketo signs along the trail (0 for drivers) so that he can prove to his residents what a great job he's doing? pic.twitter.com/yRVAxzOF8S

— Gerry Brown (@GerryBrown20) October 8, 2020

For the most part, the general consensus, at least on social media, seems to be that the issue of speeding cyclists couldn't be further from the biggest problem facing Toronto residents right now, or for that matter, ever.