[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto’s first dedicated bike lanes on Sherbourne start of bigger network"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Andrew Livingstone writes about the new bike lane on Sherbourne.

[A]s part of $4.1 million upgrades along the street, the $2.5 million bike lanes will provide a necessary dedicated north-south route for the growing number of cyclists in the downtown area.

“We use them all the time,” said Meldon Lobo, 27. “Sherbourne is in much better condition than it used to be before.”

[. . .]

Sherbourne was touted as a safer route for cyclists than Jarvis St., where painted bike lanes, added in 2010 under former mayor David Miller, have been a hot-button issue for drivers.

Council voted 24-19 in October to remove the $59,000 bike lanes to restore a reversible fifth lane at a cost of $300,000 to improve commute times for drivers.

The Sherbourne lanes are the east route in what Minnan-Wong said will be a square network of dedicated lanes in the downtown core. Designs for Wellesley St. have been completed and he said construction will begin later this year.