[URBAN NOTE] "Cycling advocates gear up to fight the use of bike lanes by people with mobility issue

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Ben Spurr reports on a new cycling battle that, frankly, sounds like it might be politically bad to take on.

A coalition of cycling, pedestrian, and accessibility advocates is gearing up to fight a proposal that they claim could mean the death of safe bike infrastructure in the city.

The proposal, which will be debated at this week’s city council meeting, would make it legal for drivers with accessible parking permits to temporarily stop in physically separated bike lanes if they’re loading or unloading someone with mobility challenges.

Ahead of a press conference at city hall on Monday, a coalition that includes Walk Toronto, Cycle Toronto, and Stop Gap, issued a release that declared that if council approved the bylaw change it would spell “the end of protected bike lanes in Toronto.”

Burns Wattie, a member of the coalition, warned that the proposal would create “an extremely dangerous situation” for road users of all types. Wattie, a cyclist who often drives his wheelchair-using son in an accessible vehicle, said that allowing drivers to stop in protected bike lanes would force cyclists into traffic, and encourage wheelchair users into a space frequented by riders.