The Cycling Network Plan adopted by City Council seeks to build on the existing network of cycling routes to Connect gaps in the current network, Grow the network into new parts of the city, and Renew existing parts of the network to improve safety – with corresponding objectives and indicators for measuring and evaluating success.
The Cycling Network Plan consists of three components: a Long-Term Cycling Network Vision, the Major City-Wide Cycling Routes, and a three year rolling Near-Term Implementation Program. The plan components, objectives and indicators are aligned with a multitude of City policies including the Official Plan, TransformTO and the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.
The Cycling Network Plan (CNP) serves as a comprehensive roadmap and work plan, outlining the City’s planned investments in the near-term and intentions for the long-term. The CNP is grounded in many city policies and strategies including the Official Plan, the Road to Health, Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, TransformTO Climate Action Strategy, Complete Streets, and key recommendations in the Toronto Office of Recovery and Rebuild’s Impacts and Opportunities report.
The CNP is an evolution of the Ten Year Cycling Network Plan, approved in principle in June 2016 and a culmination of significant research, analysis, and extensive public consultation. In 2019 and 2021, the Cycling Network Plan was updated to continue to build on the work of the Ten Year Plan, including updated data sources; a revised approach to short-term programming and long-term planning that better reflects the nature of capital coordination, development planning, and challenging feasibility assessments; a strengthened focus on safety and equity; and an enhanced prioritization framework.
The CNP’s project mandate is to:
The CNP has three main components: the Long-Term Cycling Network Vision, Major City-Wide Cycling Routes, and a three year rolling Near-Term Implementation Program.
The Cycling Network Plan has a rolling three year near-term implementation program. This approach is flexible and adaptable to the realities of infrastructure planning and capital coordination. Transportation Services regularly reviews the capital implementation program and every three years brings forward new routes based on the cycling network near-term program prioritization framework. The framework includes the cycling service assessment illustrated in the long-term vision; strategic alignment with the state-of-good-repair road program, health and wellness analyses, road safety focus areas, and planning focus areas; and takes into account the feasibility, complexity, and delivery methods of proposed design options. The framework applies an equity lens, which is informed by stakeholder engagement, geographic distribution, and a neighbourhood cycling and equity index.
Cycling Network Near-Term Program Prioritization Framework
2022 – 2024 Near-Term Implementation Program
The current Near-Term Implementation Program was adopted for 2022-2024. The program proposes approximately 100 centreline km of new bikeways, as well as upgrades to existing routes and studies for future implementation.
2019-2021 Near-Term Implementation Program
The first Near-Term Implementation Program was adopted for 2019-2021. The 2019-2021 Near-Term Program committed to approximately 65 centreline km of new bikeways, as well as upgrades to existing routes and new feasibility studies.
Note: Centreline kilometres measure the length of the road / trail segment. This is different from lane kilometres, which count infrastructure on both sides of the street.
Every street in Toronto should be considered for bikeways and other cycling upgrades. Toronto’s Cycling Network Plan diverges from traditional cycling route plans in North America. Route plans identify streets that should be considered for cycling, but Toronto’s Cycling Network Plan does not limit cycling to a specific set of streets. To fulfill the long-term vision of the Cycling Network Plan, every street through development applications, area studies, and capital projects should consider and incorporate bikeways. Just like every street re-design considers people driving and walking, the same should be for cycling.
Not all streets are created equal. Some streets bring greater value to the cycling network, as illustrated by the four categories of cycling service assessment used in the long-term vision, which can be viewed below. The categories are based on the cycling impact analysis (current and potential cycling demand, trip generators, transit access, connectivity, coverage, barriers, safety, and Neighbourhood Improvement Areas).
Newly suggested routes that are not yet scored in the long-term vision will be added when the analyses are updated. The next comprehensive update will be undertaken when the results of the 2021 Canadian Census and Transportation Tomorrow Survey are available.
Long-Term Cycling Network Vision – Map of Analysis Scores
Many of the routes in the long-term cycling network vision have not yet undergone a feasibility review. They are included in the network because the cycling analysis demonstrates value, but assessing every route’s technical feasibility at this stage is not possible. In some cases, immediately parallel routes score well and are shown on the map to capture all possibilities. In these cases, further analysis and consultation will confirm the preferred route(s) as they are brought forward to the near-term implementation program.
Proposed Cycling Network by Analysis Scores Map
As part of the 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update, new and emerging analyses are and will continue to be considered in the near-term prioritization framework . Some of the inputs were in response to the unique challenges and needs highlighted by the pandemic, and will be reviewed and changed over time as other priority areas develop.
Neighbourhood Cycling and Equity Index Map
This map shows the overlay of two variables, the Neighbourhood Equity Index and the Cycling Index. The Neighbourhood Equity Index was developed by the Social Development, Finance and Administration Division. The scores are based on five domains: economic opportunities, social development, participation in decision making, physical surroundings, and healthy lives. The Neighbourhood Cycling Index is the proportion of street kilometres in the neighbourhood (excluding highways) that have cycling routes. The cycling network used in this map includes projects completed up to December 2020.
Neighbourhood Cycling and Equity Index Map
Health and Wellness
This map shows layers used in the strategic alignment category of health and wellness. The data sets are density of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people as of June 1, 2020; areas of parkland need, and a heat map of TTC crowding based on occurrences of 30% capacity at the bus stop level from April 27 to May 1, 2020. This map reflects information available in 2020 and 2021. These layers were important during pandemic planning. Going forward, specific layers in these categories may be changed to reflect new health and wellness indicators.
Road Safety Focus Areas
This map shows layers used in the strategic alignment category of road safety focus areas. These are serious injury and fatal collisions (data from 2014 to 2018) of all road users shown as a heat map, as well as pedestrian safety corridors as identified in the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.
Planning Focus Areas
This map shows layers used in the strategic alignment category of planning focus areas. These are active City Planning studies, active street network studies, as well as ravine priority areas identified by Parks, Forestry, and Recreation.
This analysis highlights areas of the city where there are currently high volumes of cycling traffic, to visualize where the greatest number of existing cyclists could benefit from new or upgraded bikeways.
Data source: 2016 Toronto Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS) – total cycling trips.
This analysis highlights areas where there is currently a high demand for short trips (under 5 km) not currently being made by bicycle that could potentially be completed by bicycle in future. This updated analysis also includes long walking trips (over 1 km)
Data source: 2016 TTS non-cycling and non-walking trips of 5 km or less, and walking trips over 1 km.
This analysis measures the number of key trip generators served by a bikeway project (such as libraries, community and recreation centres, schools, hospitals, health care centres, grocery stores, daycares).
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis highlights key connections to transit stations. It is based on the streets modelled to carry the highest number of commuters from their home to the closest public transit station within a cycleable catchment (2 km for TTC, 3 km for GO), specifically in Context Area 2.
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis highlights bikeway projects that can close gaps in the existing network, by providing cycling-friendly connections between nearby routes. The result will be more routing options for cyclists using those facilities.
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis applies a buffer (up to 500 m in Context 2 and 250 m in Context 1) around the existing cycling network to identify areas of the city that do not have cycling routes (projects outside of the buffer areas receive a higher score).
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis identifies opportunities to provide safer crossings where none exist, within 1 km in either direction from a barrier, including highways, railways, rivers, ravines, etc.
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis ranks mid-block and intersection locations into 4 quartiles to identify which locations are experiencing a higher proportion of cycling collisions (4 being highest and 1 the lowest), based on the number of collisions that were reported at each location from 2012 to 2017. The quartile ranking analyzes cycling collisions relative to each other depending on whether the locations are in Context Area 1 or Context Area 2.
Data Source: City of Toronto
This analysis is based on the Equity Index Score developed by the Social Development, Finance and Administration Division, used to identify the Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs). Projects that fall within NIAs receive a higher score. Activities about key community destinations and barriers to cycling were undertaken with NIA Planning Tables, summarized in Attachment 5 of the 2019 report, which inform cycling programming and delivery through a more qualitative process.
Data Source: City of Toronto
There are a number of significant corridors that cross Toronto from east to west and north to south, where high order cycling infrastructure has been installed, or is underway, or planned. These Major City-Wide Cycling Routes support a connected system across the Greater Toronto Area by linking with other cycling routes in neighbouring municipalities. These cycling routes complement those identified in broader Provincial and City Plans including the Metrolinx Regional Cycling Network Plan and TOcore.
The network of Major City-Wide Cycling Routes consists of approximately 500 centreline km. Before the adoption of the 2019 Cycling Network Plan Update, there were about 170 km of Major City-Wide Routes in place. In 2021, there are about 200 km in place, or 40% of the network.
There has been significant work since 2019 on a number of Major City-Wide Cycling Routes to close gaps, initiate new designs, and enhance the network. The ActiveTO cycling accelerations in 2020 and 2021 provided an opportunity to build a number of the Major City-Wide Cycling Routes, advancing the work from planned study to installation in a short timeframe.
Major City-Wide Cycling Routes Map
The type of study needed for each corridor will take different forms for different streets depending on the corridor’s complexity of current and future uses, and the associated impacts. Some routes may include analysis of parallel streets to confirm the most feasible alignment of the route. All studies will be undertaken with a Complete Streets and Vision Zero approach to road safety, and all projects include public consultation and stakeholder engagement before seeking Council approval to install.
On June 9, 2016 Toronto City Council approved the 10 Year Cycling Network Plan to connect, grow and renew infrastructure for Toronto’s cycling routes. On July 17, 2019 Toronto City Council approved the 2019 Cycling Network Plan Update, which provided a new timeframe to improve road work coordination, accountability, and implementation. On December 15, 2021 Toronto City Council approved the 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update, which included the next roll out of the near-term program, and recommended increases to budget and staff capacity. Links and details are listed below.
City Council Decision, Recommendations, Staff Report and Attachments: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2021.IE26.9
Stakeholder engagement for the 2021 Update was focused on key city-wide stakeholder groups at the plan level, and then each individual bikeway project will have a focused public consultation and engagement program made available online on the City’s Cycling & Pedestrian Public Consultations webpage as each project advances. Councillor briefings by district were held in the month of May. Two invited external stakeholder briefings were held in early June, one for community groups and institutions, the other for partner agencies and neighbouring municipalities.
External Stakeholder Briefing Meeting Summary and Slide Deck
City Council Decision, Recommendations, Staff Report and Attachments: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2019.IE6.11
Based on the 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS), this map illustrates the percentage of all trips taken by bicycle in each area of the city (specifically using TTS traffic zone boundaries for greater detail). TTS trips do not include trips by active modes for non-work / school purposes.
Data Source: Transportation Tomorrow Survey 2016
Based on the 2016 Toronto Employment Survey and 2016 Statistics Canada Census, this map illustrates the number of people and jobs per hectare.
Data Source: Toronto Employment Survey 2016 and Statistics Canada Census 2016
Neighbourhood Equity Index Scores (out of 100) are those identified by City of Toronto Social Development, Finance & Administration Division for the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020. The scores are based on five domains: economic opportunities, social development, participation in decision-making, physical surroundings, and healthy lives. The greater the opportunities and services, the higher the score.
Data Source: City of Toronto
“Cycling Service” is the proportion of street kilometres in the neighbourhood (excluding highways) that have cycling routes (cycle tracks, bike lanes, trails, quiet street sharrows), represented as a percentage (out of 100). The more cycling routes that exist, the higher the score.
Data Source: City of Toronto
Cycling Service by Neighbourhood
This map illustrates the combined scores of cycling service and the equity index, which are out of 200 when merged. The lowest scoring neighbourhoods represent those in greatest need of investment.
Data Source: City of Toronto
Combined Cycling Service and Equity Scores
City Council Decision and Recommendations:
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2016.PW13.11
The 2016 Ten Year Cycling Network Implementation Plan details the public consultation, research process, analyses and coordination involved in the development of the 10 Year Cycling Network Plan, which has been incorporated into the Cycling Network Plan Update.
Table of Contents & Sections 1-4
Section 5 – Mapping the Potential to Impact Cycling in Toronto
Section 10 – Recommended Ten Year Cycling Network Implementation Plan
Appendix A – Ten Year Cycling Network Implementation Plan Maps (City-Wide, District and Ward)
Appendix E – Cycling Network Outcomes for Various Implementation Plan Scenarios
View City of Toronto previous ward maps (44-Ward Model) of the original Ten Year Cycling Network Plan.
2012 Bikeway Trails Implementation Plan
In 2012, Toronto City Council adopted the Bikeway Trails Implementation Plan – a planning document which was the basis for moving forward with new multi-use trail development within the city. The Plan called for seventy-seven (77) kilometres of new trails to be built within a ten-year time frame and identified priorities for upgrades to the city’s existing trail network and a program that supports future trail building (including design guidance). In 2016, the network and routes established through this plan were re-evaluated and either carried forward or revised as per the 2016 Cycling Network 10 Year Plan.
2001 Bike Plan
Prior to the 10 Year Cycling Network Plan, the City created the 2001 Bike Plan. This plan set out integrated principles, objectives and recommendations regarding safety, education and promotional programs as well as cycling related infrastructure, including a comprehensive bikeway network.
While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is no text alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding our maps, drawings, or any other content, please contact the Cycling Unit at cycling@toronto.ca.