๐šƒ๐šŠ๐š›๐šŠ๐šœ ๐™ถ๐š›๐šŽ๐šœ๐šŒ๐š˜๐šŽ ๐Ÿš‡

The attack on bike lanes in #Toronto is getting the New York Times treatment today.

They're framing it as "drivers vs. cyclists."

It's really Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives vs. the cities of #Ontario.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/canada/bike-lanes-toronto.html

Drivers vs. Cyclists: A Battle for the Streets in Canadaโ€™s Largest City

Cyclists in Toronto are resisting a law that would have the city rip out miles of bike lanes, setting back efforts toward safer streets.

The New York Times
Jul 26 at 3:09pmWeb
Show thread๐šƒ๐šŠ๐š›๐šŠ๐šœ ๐™ถ๐š›๐šŽ๐šœ๐šŒ๐š˜๐šŽ ๐Ÿš‡Jul 26
Come to #Montreal. Come to #Paris. Those are the models to look to. Bike infrastructureโ€”and transitโ€”is getting built. Pandering to drivers, and their cars, has to be a non-starter in the era of climate breakdown.
Show threadCourt Cantrell prefers not toJul 26
@straphanger I'm not even a cyclist, and I agree fully with this. ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ––
Show threadalex.tmJul 27
@straphanger Also #Vancouver. Both of the streets that connect to my building just got brand new fully separated bike lanes this summer. For many of the rides I go on, these were the only streets I had to regularly use that didnโ€™t already have dedicated lanes.
Show threadMichael Kalus6d ago
@alextm @straphanger letโ€™s not party too hard SimCity and his merry band of car councillors killed the Broadway bike lanes and are still trying to remove (at least part) of the Beach bike lane.
Show threadtlarivJul 26
@straphanger
"Some of the most popular bike lanes were making Torontoโ€™s notorious traffic worse" โ€ฆ wait for it โ€ฆ "according to the provincial government."
Show threadCalamitous ORTBO Jul 26
@straphanger I visited Amsterdam for the first time, & as a #NeverVoteConservative #Ontarian, I call the Netherlands the "anti-Ford nation", bc of how well they've built #cycling & #pedestrian infrastructure.
Show threadPeter BrownJul 26
@straphanger "Bike lanes aren't bike infrastructure, they're car infrastructure. Because if you remove the cars, you don't need bike lanes."
Simples !
Show threaddisorderlyfJul 26
@straphanger Probably wouldn't need as much bike infrastructure if they actually gave a shit about any other types of transit.
Show threadTim Ward โญ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ”ถ #FBPEJul 26

@straphanger Every now and then someone suggests that there should be a "no cycling" day in Cambridge.

The point being to demonstrate to the petrolheads what would happen if the cyclists left their bikes at home and used their cars instead.

But it never happens, because the cyclists don't want to spend the time sitting in traffic jams.

Show threadRegina MJul 27
@TimWardCam @straphanger Too true. Would be a very effective protest to get everyone to put their bike on a rack on a car and Critical Mass Bloor St. But you would be there forever.
Show threadCorvus1d ago
@TimWardCam @straphanger
And so many of those cyclists don't have a car as an option.
Show threadClickyMcTickerJul 26
@straphanger Well, Doug, maybe more people would take the streetcar if it wasnโ€™t disrespected by the government street planners. Instead, the cars rule the streets. It sounds like people should drive circles around his house and make it a loud, slow, smelly traffic jam for an entire day.
Show threadLee ๐ŸŒJul 27
@straphanger
Extremists vs Cyclists
Show threadjudgyweevilJul 27
@straphanger Car fanatics when someone would like to dedicate a small portion of "their" street to cyclists and pedestrians:
Show threadBarry CookJul 27
@straphanger - yup, The Premier Who Would Be Mayor.
Micromanaging with no recognizable qualifications. Catering to his voting base (who arenโ€™t in the city), but rather, live in bedroom communities and much further afield, all seeking to drive (usually one person per vehicle) into the city and then complain about the traffic they create. All without paying city taxes.
As for Torontoians who have to put up with them (and Ford) and use other means, well they donโ€™t count, do they?
Show threadCorvus1d ago
@bazcook @straphanger
Don't forget every other city in Ontario that could be prevented from creating bicycle lanes. Or commiting every taxpayer in Ontario to building a new destructive wasteful freeway that will do nothing to alleviate traffic congestion.
Show threadDaniel Brotherston6d ago
@straphanger Oh...I thought you meant that some Canadian newspaper was doing what the NYT does (that probably happens lots). But this is the actual NYTs. God...I'm so tired of American media. I hope Canada uses the current animosity from the US administration to get some world perspective outside the US.
Show threadutopia2d ago

For those who donโ€™t have NYT access, hereโ€™s a gift link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/canada/bike-lanes-toronto.html?unlocked_article_code=1.a08.C2FB.XwnsxtrDuDFw&smid=url-share

Drivers vs. Cyclists: A Battle for the Streets in Canadaโ€™s Largest City

Cyclists in Toronto are resisting a law that would have the city rip out miles of bike lanes, setting back efforts toward safer streets.

The New York Times