Does Premier Doug Ford ride a bike?
He might want to pump up the tires after comments and an invitation from a Toronto business improvement area.
The Bloor Annex BIA insists bike lanes are good for business, responding to comments from Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria warning that existing bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, Harbord Street and Avenue Road could be torn down to improve traffic flow.
The BIA said removing the lanes on Bloor “would be disastrous to the neighbourhood”.
The province introduced legislation last week that would give Queen's Park power over bike lanes that had previously been under the control of municipalities.
After bike lanes were installed on Bloor following a pilot project in 2016, both the number monthly customers served by local businesses and monthly spending increased, Brian Burchell, general manager of the BIA said in a release.
The BIA argues there are 8,000 cyclists using the Bloor bike lanes per day.
The bike lanes have been part of a renewal project for the area for the past nine years, Burchell added.
The number of retail vacancies has not changed since installation of the bike lanes, he added – seven vacant storefronts then and seven today.
“Are we building highways or are we building main streets?” Burchell said in a release that invited Premier Ford to visit the Bloor Annex area to see the community's success for himself.
The BIA said since 2014 it has worked to turn the area into a “vibrant, green and welcoming” business district.
It has helped in the building of parkettes, the removal of cement tree boxes to widen the pedestrian thoroughfare and adding 300 bicycle parking spaces.
The BIA represents business and property owners on Bloor Street from Madison Avenue to Bathurst Street.