Bike lanes, especially the…

Bike lanes, especially the Bloor Street bike lane, paved the way for me to adopt cycling as my main mode of transportation.

Before my second year of university, I never considered cycling to be a feasible mode of transportation. This was mainly due to my fears about safety while cycling - I was very frightened by the prospect of colliding with a car while on a bike.

Then, in my second year of university, when reviewing my options for my commute, my maps app indicated that commuting by bicycle would take just 20 minutes, faster than if I were to take the subway. Moreover, the route it recommended was extremely simple to follow: get to Bloor Street and stay on Bloor, which would get me most of the way there.

At the time, I was quite apprehensive about giving commuting by bicycle a try. However, knowing that there was a protected, dedicated bicycle lane on Bloor Street, I figured I would give it a shot.

For that year, the Bloor Street bicycle lane only went west to Christie, around the halfway point of my route. Each morning, I would be ecstatic to reach the safety of the protected lane once I reached Christie. Conversely, each evening, I would anxiously join the car traffic once the lane disappeared. The difference between cycling in the lane (east of Christie) and cycling with no lane (west of Christie) was jarring. Without the lane, the speed and close proximity with which cars would zip past me was immediately apparent and stressful. There were often also cars parked curbside during my commutes, which made me feel confined to the sliver of lane between the parked cars and the lane of moving traffic. In such an environment, I felt as if I needed to ride my bike extremely carefully, otherwise run the risk of colliding with a car. Once in the lane, my commute felt much safer and less stressful. The cars were no longer right beside me, and I felt like I could bike much more casually.

Commuting to university for that year, by bicycle, helped me develop confidence in using a bicycle to get around. Cycling has remained my main mode of transportation to this day, as I enjoy the exercise built in to cycling, its low monetary cost, and the fun I have riding my bike. The Bloor Street bicycle lane started this meaningful change in my life, and I hope it does not get removed. To me, its presence - and the presence of protected bike lanes like it - provide people in Toronto access to a safe, easy, reassuring environment to get around by bicycle.