Unfortunately today was the first I have commuted by bike in a long time. None the less, I was was glad to be out again. Sadly, it served as a reminder of how bad cycling in Toronto can be. These problems of course being related to the on going struggle between cars, bikes and pedestrians. I am all three of these, I do sympathize with them all, I'm not blaming, and everyone shares fault. But, what I ran into today was obscene.

Much of my riding consists of commuting from Etobicoke to downtown. A great way to do this in a relatively safe manner is to take the Martin Goodman Trail. During my commute while utilizing the trail I generally feel safe, this was not the case when getting from the lake to the downtown core particularly while going under the rail lines.

As such, last fall when a bike lane was put on Simcoe Street that allowed for safe passage from Front St. to Queens Quay I was ecstatic. Having not been out on my bike for a while I had not had an opportunity to utilize it till today. However, there is a big problem. Instead of building a bikelane the city built a Taxi stand instead.

Taxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in BikelaneTaxis in Bikelane

Update: Over a year later, I still can't ride in this bikelane, but this time for a different reason. See Here

Related Link: http://bikingtoronto.com/duncan/lower-simcoe-taxi-stand-wait-thats-a-bike-lane/

Toronto Start article inspired by my photos: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/778222--cars-clog-new-simcoe-st-bike-lane