Toronto Mayor John Tory met with a local cycling advocacy group on Wednesday in an attempt to defuse tensions between cyclists and police in High Park.
Tensions have risen between the two groups in recent weeks, with cyclists claiming Toronto Police Services (TPS) is engaging in an unfair “enforced blitz” on speeding cyclists, and police claiming their presence in the park is to ensure everyone’s safety.
Tensions reached a breaking point last week when a bicyclist was hit by a TPS cruiser while at the intersection of Center Road and Colborne Lodge Drive in the park
The cyclists’ protest will take place in the park starting at 6pm on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Cycle Toronto issued a news release saying they met with the mayor to “discuss evidence-based policy and design solutions.”
Tory has said in the past that police don’t deserve to be criticized for enforcing the speed limit on cyclists, but Cycling Toronto said Wednesday that the mayor has “expressed a willingness to consider implementing … solutions in the park before the end of 2022. [and that] he also expressed consideration for a pilot without cars [seven] days of the week.”
In the short term, the organization would like to see the following implemented:
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Creating designated lanes for multiple forms of active transport traveling at different speeds, including a ‘fast lane’ for people using the roads for recreational cycling and exercise.
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The implementation of off-peak hours during car-free hours specifically for people with bicycles to ride and exercise at speed.
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A show of support for the ‘Stop Cycles Act’, which treats stop signs as ‘go’ signs but retains the right-of-way for other road users at junctions, and a plea to Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney for ‘go-go’ bikes Stop changes to the provincial Highway Traffic Act (HTA).
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Using the ongoing StreetSmartsTO partnership with the city to provide education support and a cycling in the park ambassador to educate people and other organizations about these interventions instead of police enforcement.
On Thursday, Toronto police issued a statement saying officers were visiting the park after receiving complaints from the community “about aggressive driving and unsafe cycling habits in and around High Park.”
“While we will always prioritize road safety, including the safety of cyclists, the Service is not engaged in an enforcement blitz specifically targeting cyclists,” a force spokesman said.
“Our focus has largely been on public safety, education and warnings for both cyclists and motorists. However, we take community complaints seriously and when officers see cycling behavior that endangers public safety, they have the discretion to press charges and have done so when necessary.”
Toronto cycling lawyer David Shelnutt told CTV News Toronto that he does not accept the selectivity of TPS when it comes to enforcing the rules of the road.
“Despite unequivocal evidence that drivers on Toronto’s streets cause infinitely more and disproportionate harm to pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable road users, the Toronto Police, with the support of Mayor Tory, have cracked down on High Park, ticketing, harassing and targeting people on bicycles,” he said in a statement provided Wednesday.
He says that while a solution is needed when pedestrians and drivers are in conflict, it won’t come from excessive policing.
“What has become clear is that excessive policing that disproportionately targets racialized and vulnerable residents is counterproductive to public safety and does not effectively address the legitimate concerns raised by the community.”
Instead, he calls on the city to implement infrastructure changes that will reduce danger and conflicts between park users, implement special morning and evening practice times for higher-speed cycling, end and reconsider TPS targeting of bicyclists for minor HTA violations and redirect citywide traffic safety enforcement around dangerous driving, among other requests.
According to publicly available Toronto police data, between 2006 and 2020 there were 16 incidents of cyclists hitting pedestrians in which a serious or fatal injury was reported. None of these incidents were at High Park.
With files from Chris Herhalt, Chris Fox and Katherine DeClerq.
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