Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Toronto Cycling Activists Build Their Own Bike Network

3:21 PM EDT on June 22, 2007

pinkbikelane.JPG

Fed up with city government, which is two years behind schedule implementing a 1,000 kilometer bicycle network, Toronto's Other Urban Repair Squad have begun striping their own bike lanes -- in hot pink. The Toronto Star reports (via ibiketoronto):

The first time the group struck was on May 30. The gang spray-painted an illegal bike lane in the Annex, between Spadina Ave. and Bathurst St., along Bloor. To make the paths appear legitimate, painters stenciled the city's bike lane logo - a bicycle and large diamond - along the road as well.

"The shop owners on Bloor said they thought it was the city staff painting," said Rick Helary, manager of road operations in Toronto. He says the total cost of the clean up was $1973.74.

This is a small price to pay, says the Repair Squad's ringleader, a man in his late 30s (members of the group asked their names not be used). "The city is taking way too long. There is no need for this. Why don't they just paint the bike lanes? People are dying." The most recent cyclist killed in the GTA died earlier this month when he collided with a garbage truck on Bayview Ave., near the 401.


Photo: bikelanediary

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024

SEE IT: Hit-and-Run Driver With Fake Plate Seriously Injures Cyclist

The 5 p.m. crash occurred at Flushing and Waverly avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 28, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Shakira Shakira Edition

Pop superstar Shakira performed for a crowd of 40,000 packed into the Times Square pedestrian plazas. Plus congestion pricing news and more.

March 28, 2024
See all posts