Submitted by Andrea Garcia on 23 May, 2012 - 13:50

As evidence continues to mount against the decision to remove the Jarvis Street bike lanes and reinstall the fifth centre lane, last week Cycle Toronto (formerly the Toronto Cyclists Union) filed a request with the Province for an Environmental Assessment on Jarvis.

Last month, we made a similar request directly to the City of Toronto. However, the City's Transportation Services department responded by refusing to acknowledge that the Jarvis reconfiguration is new project, and therefore doesn't need a Schedule C Environmental Assessment. Although it took the City over two weeks to respond, city staff were not able to present any arguments rebutting our case, nor did they address any of the various safety and environmental issues we raised.

Since the original request to the City, new data has shown that collisions are down on Jarvis Street, proving the bike lanes have made the street safer for all road users. The number of cyclists on Jarvis has tripled since the installation of the bike lane in 2010. Despite the popularity of the bike lane, an overwhelming show of support for leaving Jarvis Street as is at the July 2011 Council meeting and no public consultation to gauge support for any changes, the City will continue to move ahead with Mayor Ford’s $272,000 Gravy Lane. 

Cycle Toronto is calling on all members and supporters to join us on the Ride for Jarvis on June 13^th at 6pm to protest the decision to remove the bike lanes. Time is running out for Jarvis – let’s send a message to the Ford administration that we haven't forgotten. Let's ride for Jarvis! Check out the Facebook event here.

Read the full letter to the Ministry of Environment here.