During the ActiveTO program on Lake Shore Boulevard East and Lake Shore Boulevard West last summer that closed the streets to cars and opened them to cyclists and pedestrians, the city’s transportation division worked with the Centre for Active Transportation and Park People to conduct a survey of people using the routes. …
The good news is that the ActiveTO program seemed to be effective at motivating more people who don’t have high incomes and aren’t white to give cycling a try. Those who told surveyors they were new to cycling or riding a bike for the first time in a long time were a slightly more diverse group in terms of both race and income than those who classified themselves as long-time cyclists. Of the new-and-returning group, 24 per cent identified as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour, while the number in the $100,000-plus club fell to 58 per cent. …
As city hall’s infrastructure committee considers the proposed plan this week for the second year of the ActiveTO program, they should be thinking about ways to shift gears on cycling’s demographic mismatch. Since the weekend closures of parts of Lake Shore Boulevard and Bayview Avenue showed some promise at diversifying cycling, they certainly should think hard about whether it really makes sense to scale back the program to accommodate road construction, as is currently proposed. I’m thinking no.
Instead, consider creating new weekend car-free spaces for cycling on streets in lower-income areas. Think about accelerating the expansion of Bike Share in the suburbs, prioritizing Toronto Community Housing buildings. Think about way more bike lane additions outside of the downtown core. Think about supporting programs that can subsidize or provide free bikes for people who might not otherwise afford them.
Read full article: Wealthy and white: ActiveTO made some progress in diversifying cycling, but more needs to be done