• A 2007 report by Toronto Public Health found that 440 premature deaths and 1700 hospitalizations each year in Toronto are caused specifically by pollution from road transportation emissions
• The same report found that children suffer over 1200 acute bronchitis episodes as a result of air pollution from traffic, and the majority of 68,000 asthma symptom days
• Mortality-related costs associated with traffic pollution in Toronto are estimated to be $2.2 billion per year
• Numerous studies have found that car-based communities lead to physical inactivity and ill health amongst residents, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease
• The World Health Organization considers road injuries to be one of the most major, and neglected public health issues. Cyclists are 8 times more likely to be killed per kilometer traveled than a person in a car.
• Approximately 10,000 bike accidents occur on Toronto streets every year. While the number of accidents reported to police is generally around 1000, city documents show that up to 90% of bike accidents go unreported, including a significant number of those that result in hospitalization.
• A report by the International Association of Public Transport found that Toronto had the single most energy intensive transportation system out of 52 of the world’s more affluent urban regions (largely because of the very high proportion of people driving)
• The Toronto Board of Trade reports that traffic congestion costs the GTA $1.8 billion per year

The Good News: Bikes can help!

• Cycling is one of the most equitable forms of transportation
• There are already 950,000 adults who cycle in Toronto
• Where bike lanes have been created, ridership has increased by up to 42%
• A bicycle emits zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operation (a motor vehicle produces about 2.5 kg of greenhouse gases for each litre of fuel burned)
• A 1998 Environics poll found that 70% of Canadians would ride a bike to work if they had a dedicated bike lane and a trip of less than 30 minutes
• Canadian motorists on average take 2000 trips of UNDER 3 km each year
• In Copenhagen, 30% of people commute by bike; in Toronto 0.8% of people commute by bike. Even the Yukon and Northwest Territories have higher percentages of people who bike to work than Toronto! So there is a HUGE potential to do better!

Why Bloor Street?

• Bloor already has one of the highest rates of cycling in the entire city. Good bike route planning places bike lanes where the cyclists already are.
• Bloor has one of the highest car-bike collision rates in the city. The City has known this for over a decade. We feel that this is unacceptable, and that the City should have responded long ago by protecting cyclists with well-designed bike lanes.
• Bloor is one of the only long, straight, relatively flat routes that connects the city from end to end.
• There are no streetcar tracks!
• It’s right on top of the subway, which means that there is a reduced need for road space for cars.
• Research from around the world has demonstrated that bike routes are most successful when they are continuous and direct, and when they minimize the delays or stops for cyclists. 
• Unconnected, disjointed segments of bike lanes that force cyclists to take circuitous routes on various side streets will not encourage people to get out of their cars and onto bikes, and will be a wasted investment.
  
• A long, continuous and direct bike lane on Bloor will encourage more people to get out on their bikes, and will protect those who are already out there.
• Long stretches of Bloor are made up of small business, and research has shown that bike lanes are good for business! While cars tend to zoom right by and motorists have to worry about finding parking, cyclists can more easily stop as they please, park at the nearest post-and-ring, and support our local businesses.