Residents fight bike lane plan for a main road in Mississauga

Community members are ramping up the fight against a plan to remove two driving lanes for new bike lanes in Mississauga.

The bike lane plan was approved for the Bloor Street corridor from Central Parkway East to Etobicoke Creek nearly one year ago, on June 28. Construction is slated to start this fall and be complete by the end of 2025, according to the latest timeline from the City of Mississauga.

The new bike lanes are part of the Bloor Street integrated road project, which will reduce Bloor Street from four lanes to two lanes for motorized traffic.

The plans also include a continuous two-way left turn lane, widened sidewalks on both sides of the road, in-boulevard cycle tracks and trees on both sides of the road.

Members of Applewood Hills and Heights Residents’ Association have long opposed the plan and have recently organized a lawn sign campaign.

Bright yellow signs that read, “Don’t remove car lanes from Bloor” were distributed on the weekend.

The association says more than 3,400 area residents have signed the petitions objecting to lane reduction.

Those opposed to the bike lanes argue that adding the lanes on Bloor Street would endanger the public. The bike lanes in front of driveways would pose serious safety issues.

But Mississauga Cycling Now has argued that Bloor Street is currently unsafe for cycling and the bike lanes are needed.

A post on the Mississauga sub-Reddit page has a majority comments in favour of adding the lanes.

“My kids will be attending schools in that area along Bloor for the next 8 years,” one person wrote on Reddit. “Would be nice to see road safety improvements in the area so that my kids and their friends can more easily navigate the area with fewer parents driving them around.”

“Grew up in the neighbourhood, now raising my own family here. I don’t currently own a bike but I am totally in agreement with adding bike lanes,” another person wrote.

But a few people worried about traffic woes on the Reddit page.

“Traffic is already horrible why would we want to make it worse,” one person wrote.

See the Applewood Hills and Heights Residents’ Association page here.

The City of Mississauga plans are here.

Lead photo: George Tavares