Cycling in Toronto: Slow 2025 but key projects keep momentum
Provincial bans stalled several bike projects in 2025, but council approvals, new trails and falling fatalities offer cautious optimism ahead of the municipal election.
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By Torontoer Staff
Provincial legislation last year capped a difficult period for cycling and road safety in Toronto. Bills 60 and 56 restricted municipal action on road reallocation and removed speed cameras, prompting the city to pause or cancel several bike and safety projects.
Despite those setbacks, 2025 delivered modest infrastructure gains, a notable reduction in traffic deaths and a batch of council approvals that could translate into more protected bike lanes and trails in 2026.
Impact of provincial bills on city projects
Bill 60 prohibits cities from converting motor vehicle lanes to bike lanes or other prescribed uses, and Bill 56 removed municipal speed cameras. Together, they directly affected projects already approved or under study at city hall. The Parkside Drive redesign, which city council had endorsed in principle as a safer street, could not proceed as intended. Other projects paused or at risk included Beltline Gap Connections, upgrades on Jones Avenue, contraflows on Logan and Carlaw, and work on Sheppard Avenue East.
What was built in 2025
On the on-street side, Toronto added roughly 10 kilometres of bike lanes, the slowest year since the pandemic. Port Union Road accounted for almost two kilometres after years of delay. Installations also included stretches on Steeles from Brimley to McCowan, Champagne-Alness from Chesswood to the Finch Hydro Corridor, Mill Road in Etobicoke, the Wallace-Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan, and contraflow lanes on Silverthorn and Blackthorn.
- Port Union Road, nearly 2 km
- Steeles, Brimley to McCowan
- Champagne-Alness, Chesswood to Finch Hydro Corridor
- Mill Road, Etobicoke
- Wallace-Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan
- Contraflows on Silverthorn and Blackthorn
Off-road trail work extended the Finch Hydro Corridor west from Birchmount to Pharmacy, and The Meadoway gained a new stretch from Marcos to Midland. The large switchback structure along the East Don Trail is expected to open in spring, bringing the city closer to a continuous route from Lake Ontario to the Toronto Zoo.
Progress against the 2016 plan and longer-term context
The 2016 ten-year cycling network plan aimed for 335 kilometres of on-street lanes by 2025. From 2016 to 2025, Toronto installed about 144 kilometres, roughly 43 percent of that target. That output still surpasses the total installed from 1979 to 2015, and it doubles the 68 kilometres put in from 2006 to 2015, but climate and safety goals mean the pace needs to accelerate.
Projects to watch in 2026
City council recently approved about 20 kilometres of bikeways, the most added in a single motion outside formal citywide bike plans. Most projects lie outside the downtown core, with Kingston Road the longest at six kilometres. Because Bill 60 exempts projects already underway, the imminent opening of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT could allow bike lanes on Eglinton from Keele to Mount Pleasant this spring. Phase 2 from Mount Pleasant to Brentcliffe remains vulnerable to restrictions.
Trail developments to watch include the East Don Trail opening, a short Meadoway extension from Bermondsey to Eglinton, and the Etobicoke Greenway hydro corridor trail, expected to be finished by late 2027. The West Scarborough Rail Trail received council support, though implementation may conflict with TTC plans for a pocket track at Warden Station.
Last month’s City Council meeting proved we can continue to move forward despite the Ford government’s actions, but we need to keep holding Mayor Olivia Chow and councillors accountable to ensure this happens.
Robert Zaichkowski
Safety trends and the speed camera debate
Toronto recorded its lowest number of traffic fatalities since the Vision Zero plan began in 2016. Deaths fell from 78 in 2016 to 39 in 2025. Cyclist fatalities also dropped, with one confirmed pedal-bike rider killed in 2025 compared to six in 2024. The city dashboard listed two cyclist deaths, but one involved a motorcycle-style, non-pedal e-bike and is therefore not counted as a cyclist death by some observers.
The removal of municipal speed cameras raises concern because evidence shows cameras reduce speeding and crashes. Maintaining the downward trend in fatalities will require continued attention to enforcement, engineering and education even as legislative constraints limit some tools.
What residents can expect next
With nine months until the municipal election, candidates will face questions about cycling, safety and local infrastructure. Voters can ask where candidates stand on completing bikeway networks, delivering trail connections and protecting vulnerable road users. The combination of council approvals, trail openings and lower fatalities suggests momentum remains, but implementation will depend on political will and provincial rules.
Toronto made incremental gains in 2025 amid significant constraints. If council and candidates prioritise faster delivery, the city can translate recent approvals into safer streets and more continuous active-transportation routes in 2026 and beyond.
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