ActiveTO has supporters and critics but appears to be here to stay

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There’s no question that Torontonians have mixed feelings about the ActiveTO program.

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the ActiveTO initiative can be divisive. Some are big supporters, while others just want it to go away. However, it sounds like ActiveTO is here to stay.

It started in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to give pedestrians, runners and cyclists space to exercise and get out while social distancing. Back then sections of Lake Shore Blvd. E. and W., Bayview Ave., as well as the roads in High Park were closed at times. The initiative was scaled back in 2021, with Lake Shore Blvd. W. not used as much, and again this year when it returned the last two weekends of May.

The 2022 ActiveTO major road closures started on May 21 on Bayview Ave. from Rosedale Valley Rd. to Lawren Harris Square, River St. between Bayview Avenue and Spruce St., and The Meadoway from Brimley Rd. to Scarborough Golf Club Rd. from 7 am to 7 pm on Sunday the 22nd. This year the Lake Shore closure was only on Victoria Day Monday in the eastbound lanes. This past weekend, ActiveTO returned on Saturday and Sunday on the previously utilized non-Lake Shore roads and the roads in High Park and on Sunday on the Lake Shore eastbound lanes between Windermere Ave. and Stadium Rd.

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There has been some grumbling on social media, particularly about the impact on drivers when Lake Shore is partly closed (Lake Shore W. is not currently part of ActiveTO due to ongoing construction) and Deputy Mayor Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke Centre), Councilor Michael Ford (Etobicoke North) and former city councillor Mark Grimes, amongst others, have said ActiveTO causes too much congestion and isn’t needed post-pandemic. Ford said in October: “at the beginning, I saw the value in it. But as one example, I think it’s really passed its usefulness now. It’s actually becoming a bigger hindrance than a benefit to the city.”

Still, Mayor John Tory is a strong supporter of ActiveTO, as are some other councillors.

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Last Wednesday, Councilor Mike Layton (University-Rosedale) asked staff for a report on more ActiveTO closures on Lake Shore W. later this summer that will be discussed at city council meetings on June 15 and 16. Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto-Centre) had asked in 2020 for sections of Yonge St. to be closed for ActiveTO, but it didn’t happen. In December 2021, council voted to make seven ActiveTO bike lanes introduced during the pandemic permanent (with bike lane pilot projects on Yonge and on Bayview extended until at least next year).

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“We have made huge progress confronting the pandemic and reopening Toronto. Major in-person events are back across our city and people are coming in and out of Toronto a lot more once again,” Tory told the Sun on the weekend.

“I support City staff working to balance all the renewed demands on our roads and other public spaces and the need to accommodate as much as possible all the major events across Toronto that are now back, while continuing to provide opportunities for ActiveTO. These should happen when and where they make sense based on the advice of our professional transportation staff,” Tory said.

“While I realize some councilors would support closing major roads every weekend and some would never close any roads ever, I support trying to find a balance and working to make sure we do have fun events in our city for people to enjoy and that people can still get around the city by foot, by bike, by transit and by car.”