Sometimes you need to be a little creative to prove a point. At least, that is what Cycle Toronto seems to be doing.

If protected bike lanes on Bloor Street West are the problem, the local advocacy group has a cheeky little solution. It is inviting Premier Doug Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria. And it’s truly a hands-on…erm, foot-on, solution. Come ride the alternative, gang!

The invitation

The cycling advocacy group is inviting Ford, Sarkaria, municipal candidates and members of the public to join its “Cyclists Aren’t Secondary” ride on Saturday.  

It’s a nice little 9 km ride from Tom Riley Park near Islington Avenue to Neil McLellan Park near Runnymede Road, using neighbourhood side streets and park trails instead of Bloor Street.

It’s basically the sort of route that cycling advocates say isn’t a realistic replacement for a protected bike lane on a major east-west arterial.

The ride starts with a 10 a.m. meetup at Tom Riley Park. Riders roll at 10:15 a.m. and arrive at Neil McLellan Park around 11 a.m. Bike Share bikes will be available at the starting point.

So, about those ‘secondary roads’

The ride comes as the Ford government moves ahead with its plan to restore motor-vehicle lanes on Toronto streets. Those include Bloor, Yonge and University.

After winning its appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal, the province began the process of removing the protected lanes. It’s complicated, and honestly who knows what’s next. But there is some work on Bloor Street West moving ahead first.

Of course there’s a car parked in the bike lane in Doug Ford’s video

The government has said it wants to bring back vehicle lanes while retaining or reconfiguring bike lanes. The exact wording said “where they make sense and do not make gridlock worse.”

That’s a problem, cycling advocates say. Putting people on bikes onto side streets, trails and other indirect routes isn’t equivalent to providing a protected route along a major corridor. Of course it’s great to have bike lanes through parks or forests or whatever, but for those people who are riding to work, a direct route is clearly the best, not a meandering ride to make it for 9 a.m.

Although lots of bike-friendly countries like say, Denmark or the Netherlands have pretty incredible infrastructure through forests or parks that all connect to main roads…they also have actual bike lanes on them too. But it’s also the sort of thing that ain’t cheap, and takes planning. And the big question is feasibility? Is this a genuine claim or an election thing?

The interesting thing about Ford and bikes is he did a ride for TVO with NDP’s Jagmeet Singh around town. Seems like a lifetime ago. Although it was a positive experience for both leaders–who are quite different in views, Ford did admit he hadn’t been on a bike in decades. “When we were cycling down Bloor St., I realized how out of shape I was,” he said.

The ride

As far as the ride Cycle Toronto is advertising? The group said the ride will avoid Bloor and other arterial roads to demonstrate what travelling through Etobicoke would actually look like if cyclists were expected to use the “secondary roads” instead of the existing protected lanes.

“We invite the premier to join us on a bike ride through the side streets of Etobicoke,” Cycle Toronto executive director Michael Longfield said.

He also accused the province of rejecting a possible compromise with the City of Toronto.

Why this is happening

The province’s decision to move ahead with the removals comes after a seemingly never-ending legal and political fight over Toronto’s protected bike lanes. It all started back in 2024 when the Ford government passed some controversial legislation.

It gave the province a role in removing existing bike lanes and requiring provincial approval for certain future projects. The province has argued that restoring vehicle lanes will help address congestion. Cycling advocates challenged the legislation in court, and won. But the fight was far from over, it seems, looking back. Eventually the Ontario Court of Appeal ultimately cleared the way for the government to proceed.

Now the province is starting with Bloor Street West, including the section between Islington Avenue and Royal York Road that cycling advocates have been particularly concerned about.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has also pushed for what she has described as “win-win” solutions that restore vehicle capacity while keeping cycling infrastructure.

According to Cycle Toronto, however, the province recently rejected a proposal from the city that would have done just that on Bloor Street West.

That rejection is particularly awkward given previous statements from Ford and Sarkaria about finding places where bike lanes and vehicle lanes can coexist.

Saturday’s ride

If side streets, trails and ravines really are the answer, Cycle Toronto would apparently like the premier and transportation minister to experience the answer for themselves.

The route starts at Tom Riley Park at 3216 Bloor St. W. and finishes at Neil McLellan Park at 263 Beresford Ave.

No Bloor bike lane required.