St. George, one of the most pedestrian- and bike-friendly streets downtown (it boasts one of the busiest and longest bike lanes), also happens to end right at one of the most awkward intersections in the city. Trying to turn southbound with vehicular traffic on to St. George from Dupont is unpleasant at best. At worst it’s an accident waiting to happen. And, I would recommend crossing in the intersection with pedestrians. If you’re heading north trying to get to the bike lane on Poplar Plains. Traffic signals, better signage and better paint markings to direct traffic would improve matters significantly. Needs improvement badly.
Schoolteacher and cyclist Tom Samson was killed in a hit-and-run in 2012. There are bike lanes in both directions on Davenport and along Lansdowne, but it’s speed that kills here. Sometimes when I pass through this intersection I think we should hang a huge banner from the overhead wires that reads Slow The Fuck Down – A Father Of Two Was Killed Here! But that might be difficult to execute.
This intersection is a major burr in the saddle for many of my bike buddies. It can be a bit of a shock for those leaving the idyllic West Toronto Railpath only to be confronted with this. Signs and green paint have been added over the years to cut down on confusion, but it’s still a mess. (See sharrows masquerading as full-fledged bike lanes). The solution? Rebuild it.
One of the city’s most used bike lanes is also the most notorious for illegal parking and dooring incidents. It’s also at this intersection where the College bike lane turns to sharrows and the roadway becomes a precarious squeeze for cyclists forced to navigate between parked cars and streetcar tracks. I wish the city had the courage to remove some on-street parking and just extend the damn bike lane west to connect with Shaw and the Railpath. Pro tip: don’t ride in the door zone.
Is it just me or did this intersection get a bit more difficult to turn south on since the city added green paint to the north corner curb lane on Harbord? For many years I’ve turned left, with traffic, with ease at this T-intersection. But now that there is a patch of green paint in the gutter on Harbord where it meets Ossington, drivers think I should be over there – not out in the middle of the lane with my arm stuck out pointing south. But there I am! Hi! Though this is definitely not one of the worst intersections for cyclists, the thing is, cyclists make up about 40 per cent of traffic on Harbord at peak periods – that’s about 4,000 cyclists a day. It’s the second-busiest bike route in the city. This intersection should be pristine.
The good news: new contraflow lanes on Shaw between Dupont and Dundas allow cyclists to ride north on the southbound street. The bad news: it’s hard to cross at College – thanks to the curb on the southeast corner jutting out into the street – without getting off your bike and using the pedestrian crosswalk on the west side. Patience required.
Tammy Thorne is editor-in-chief of dandyhorse magazine.
New issue at better bike shops and bookstores this June. dandyhorsemagazine.com.
Updated Friday, May 27 at 12:15 pm. An earlier version of this story stated that Samson was travelling north on Lansdowne when he was struck. The original police report stated as much. However, it was disclosed later that Samson was stationary, or near stationary, and waiting to turn left.
