Riding home from work on Friday I was happy to see that another tiny segment of bike lane has been installed which will better link two major east west routes in the east end of the former city of Toronto. I was riding south on Logan Avenue from the bike lanes on Dundas (Bike Route 10) to the bike path that runs along Lake Shore Blvd. East (Bike Route 4). It is a connection you can make riding south but not when riding in the other direction since there was a short section of Logan that is one way south. Now that problem is solved with a 200 m contra flow bicycle lane that has been installed on the one way street south of Eastern Avenue. The Toronto City Council actually approved the installation of this bike lane in April of 2006. The report can be seen at the following link Logan Ave. Bike Lane report-TEYCC April 2006. Its installation has been a long time coming but it is a welcome addition to the Bikeway Network.

One way streets are often used as a means of traffic control to keep cars from using routes through residential areas. They are also however an impediment to the movement to bicycle traffic. Contra-Flow bike lanes are a way to maintain the traffic control of one way streets while allowing cyclists to have more direct routes through their neighbourhoods. Bicycles are exempted from the one way street and a contra-flow bike lane is set up to allow them to move safely against the flow of traffic. The line marking the bike lane is yellow not white since it separates traffic moving in opposite directions, in this case on Logan Avenue it separates bicycle only traffic traveling north in the contra-flow lane and car and bike traffic traveling south.

The problem of one-way streets preventing Logan Ave. from serving a continuous bike route exists north of Dundas St. as well. The Toronto Bike Plan designates Logan Ave. (along with sections of adjacent Carlaw Avenue) as a north south route in this area (Route 49) running from the Lake Shore bike path up to the bike lane on Cosburn Avenue. The section of the route between Danforth and Dundas should be improved now as well since, at the September meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council a report was approved that added sections of bicycle lanes and contra-flow lanes on Logan and Carlaw. Toronto and East York Community Council Report 8 PDF- see item 8.80 pg. 29. It adds the following cycling infrastructure.

1. southbound bicycle lane on the west side of Carlaw Avenue, from Riverdale Avenue to Simpson Avenue,
2. a southbound contra-flow bicycle lane on the west side of Logan Avenue, from Simpson Avenue to Gerrard Street East,
3. a bicycle lanes on both sides of Logan Avenue, from Gerrard Street East to Dundas Street East,

The report containing that recommendation was considered at City Council meeting last week. I haven't seen the decision document from that Council meeting to confirm that these bike lanes received final approval but I assume that they have. Councillor Paula Fletcher is the Councillor for the area and has been supportive of the cycling infrastructure projects in her ward. The next step is to paint the lines and put up the signs. Hopefully it doesn't take as long as the southern portion to get completed.