If you've rode a bicycle in Toronto for any extended period of time, you know that the difference between a good street to ride on and a bad street is extreme. Some roads are laps of luxury: brilliant scenery and historical sights as you zoom by on smooth pavement. Other roads have you clutching your handlebars desperately as you ponder whether this next spoke spin will be your last. Today we're going to look at some in that second category: the worst streets to bike on in Toronto.
Eglinton Avenue West
Three words: nightmarish fun house. (Without the fun)
Eglinton is a high traffic street and is hilly, which automatically makes it unappealing for cyclists. It is also extremely wide and yet often has on street parking, meaning a rider will have to dodge parked cars and high speed traffic zipping past them on the left. There are also several treacherous potholes while you go up or down the hills, several TTC buses that use Eglinton, oh and did I mention the hills? The one between Caledonia and Keele will have you wishing Scotty would just beam you up already. Once you get west of Jane there's actually an excellent bicycle trail that runs along Eglinton almost all the way to the airport, but you have to be brave/lucky/crazy enough to get that far. Cycling on Eglinton West is like riding a loopy roller coaster, that is if the other rides in the amusement park could run into you while you do it.
Best stretch: Jane to Renforth
Worst stretch: Bathurst to Dufferin/Caledonia to Keele
Danger rating: 9
Hill rating: 10
East or West? Neither, both are equally hilly and dangerous
(photo credit -- bellsondanforth.ca)
Danforth Avenue
Bicycling any portion of the Danforth is at least moderately hazardous, which is a shame since there are so many attractions and things to see along the way. There are always columns of parked cars, waves of traffic zipping past you, jaywalkers oblivious to the crossing just ten metres away, and plenty of intersections where turning vehicles must be taken into account. Further east Danforth widens a bit and so there's at least more space, but then you have to deal with drivers who aren't used to bicycles so it's still not ideal. Danforth is fantastic if you're a pedestrian but avoid it if you are cycling, especially in daylight.
Best stretch: Woodbine to Main
Worst stretch: Broadview to Pape
Danger rating: 8
Hill rating: 1 (a slight one before Woodbine)
East or West? East (the road quality is better)
Dundas Street West
Biking on Dundas West is actually fascinating because it's almost like a urban cyclist's video game. You've completed Level Five: "Pothole Party" now for Level Six: "Traffic Troubles!" In other words, each section of Dundas West presents it's own challenges for brave cyclists. Whether it be the high traffic between Yonge and University, the narrow road and unalert (I'm being kind here) pedestrians of the Chinatown stretch, the deadly streetcar tracks of Bathurst to Dufferin, the streetcar squeeze bonus levels, the confusing intersections of Dundas/Roncevalles or Annette/Dupont/Dundas, or the parking lot that is the Junction section of the trip. I've played this video game many times but I have to say I've never gotten past Level 12: Royal York Bridge Binge.
Best stretch: Runnymede to Scarlett
Worst stretch: Lansdowne to Ossington/Grace to Yonge/Clendenan to Annette
Danger rating: 8
Hill rating: 4
East or West? West
Dufferin Street
Now admittedly, I have not once biked on Dufferin anywhere north of Roselawn (just a bit north of Eglinton) so my impression of it is incomplete. However, I feel secure in saying Dufferin is overall an awful street for cyclists because one: most major Toronto streets only become harsher for cyclists the further north you go and two: even if Dufferin north of Eglinton is passable or even a cyclist's paradise, what's south of Eglinton is so bad that it hardly makes a difference.
The worst thing about Dufferin is road quality. Some roads have bad stretches that last for maybe a block or two, while on Dufferin smoothness is the exception. The potholes have potholes. If you're ever going south and you've just passed Dundas, either take the sidewalk (I know, I know) or grip those handlebars for dear life because otherwise you're gonna take a high speed downhill spill. Speaking of hills, south of Bloor they aren't much of a factor but the more north you go the worse it is. Between St. Clair and Eglinton you're essentially watching one tidal wave hill give way to another until you wonder if this is all a very bad dream.
Best stretch: King to Saskatchewan Road
Worst stretch: Queen to Dundas/St. Clair to Eglinton
Danger rating: 8
Hill rating: 9
North or South? South
That concludes this installment. Next time we'll look at some of Toronto's better streets for bicycles. Thanks for reading!
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