LAWRENCE PARK RESIDENTS are dividend on a proposal that would see 1.7 kilometres of bike lanes on Lawrence Avenue E.
A public meeting March 10 layed out the plans for the proposed adjustments planned for the street between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue.
Residents opposing the bike lanes were mostly concerned with traffic congestion because both of the options to implement a bike lane would eliminate one lane of traffic in both directions.
Option one would see an eastbound and westbound car and bike lane, as well as parking on one side of the street and a centre turning lane at intersections.
The second option presented by staff would be to omit the centre turning lane and have parking on two sides. According to engineers, there are currently 100 available spots for parking and the most that are ever used is between 50 and 60.
City staff engineer Saikat Basak said the project involves only re-striping the road, at a cost of about $30,000 to $35,000.
Local area residents were also concerned because staff had counted how many cars and buses travelled the street but could not say how many bikes used the arterial road.
Lawrence Avenue residents agreed they might see 10 a day, at the most, making the the bike lanes seem unnecessary.
David Bawden, president of the York Mills Ratepayers’ Association, urged staff to re-route the bike traffic to a side street, such as St. Leonard’s Avenue or Blythwood Road, suggesting that local residents would not ride a bike down a busy street.
But other residents, such as Robert Wallis, a member of the Sunnybrook Bicycle User Group, said his group supports cycling.
Currently, he said, the hospital is faced with too many cars and not enough parking, and they are being forced to spend millions of dollars on parking. But as someone who cycles to work, he said, “As far as someone who commutes every day, I go for the most efficient route, which means I use the arterial roads.”
Lawrence Avenue resident Brian Hisey said he likes the idea of slower traffic but is concerned about the increased car exhaust from idling.
The proposal, which has undergone multiple public meetings, if approved, will go to the public works committee on April 20 then to city council for approval.
Installation would be as early as this summer.