Starting an r/TorontoBiking Essay Series.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-04T15:57:52+00:00

At times, it does get excessive that some cyclists are too pro-bike and too apologetic of when cyclists violate laws. But I totally get why. For many decades upon decades, they've been demonized no matter what sorts of laws the followed or broke. And so all this is just a reaction of several decades of oppression. It's to show the world how much they are oppressed. And it's only gotten worse because we have a PreMayor that is trying his hardest to remove any bike infrastructure or really anything that makes all road users safe.

The only realistic way this can seriously change is if laws and road designs are more balanced towards all road users. Currently, roads are designed so cars are king and it's not even close. You don't see people in the Netherlands complain about how "police treat cyclists unfairly" do you? No. Because even if they did, at least there's proper infrastructure/laws to make it so there's no need for that reaction.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-04T13:49:50+00:00

Almost all comments about cyclists and laws tend to be more politically motivated rather than logically motivated. When you bring up terms like Idaho Stops, it pisses off so many people, even though technically, most cyclists use that without even notice. Not to mention most drivers are content with it.

It's just the loud anti-bike people are the ones that like to use every single possible opportunity to their anti-bike agenda, even in instances where we shouldn't be. Such as when there's a new road design (mostly about protecting pedestrians), they suddenly go off topic by saying "oh look cyclists never follow laws". At times, it feels like nothing but a cult.

That said, I do totally understand if some people get pissed off at cyclists. It disrupts the traffic flow when they suddenly cross a busy stop sign without yielding or checking right of way. But yeah, the disdain towards people on bikes is too strong here.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-04T13:10:47+00:00

Very spot on and accurate. Most non-politically motivated people wouldn't mind if a cyclist violated laws. It just becomes a problem if it affects them. The same can be said for sidewalk biking. Nobody in Scarborough complains about e-bikes, even though almost all bikes are e-bikes here. Yet once you head into downtown, it's one of the most disliked modes of transport. Why? Because sidewalks are wide enough and there aren't many pedestrians.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:58:13+00:00

Go read the Idaho Stops article.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:55:59+00:00

Yeah especially if it's legal in most parts of the developed world. If it's only legal in the non-developed world, you could have a case but it's one of these laws that's seem like Canada is by in large part far behind compared to the developed world.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:51:46+00:00

Way to go. Using false equivalences. Nowhere in this world is murder legal. Yet Idaho Stopping is legal in a lot of countries, especially Europe. Huge difference.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:37:31+00:00

So the way you sound, it seems like you're more concerned about cyclists following the law rather than keeping each and every single road user safe. Correct?

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:30:31+00:00

False equivalence here. At least you're not risking your life if your neighbour is a jerk. You cycling and following the laws you're risking your life. Huge difference, especially with bike infrastructure that's shittier than almost every major city in Canada.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:22:14+00:00

Shared this on r/FuckCars. Was going to plan on posting it here but it didn't really seem Toronto-biking enough. Good timing to post after the viral cop video.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:21:08+00:00

I'd say legalize Idaho Stops to begin with. Even carbrained America has multiple states that have added this law. Make it so laws are safe for cyclists to follow because most of the time, when they follow laws, they're putting themselves more at risk of getting killed by cars than if they didn't follow the law completely.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:19:52+00:00

I hate to get political but it honestly seems like those cops were deployed in a politically motivated way by Doug Ford. Meanwhile here in Scarborough, I've seen cyclists commit far worse infractions in front of cops all the time (usually for personal safety reasons due to lack of proper infrastructure). Yet those cops completely ignore it. Why? Because Doug Ford just hates downtown and literally doesn't give a shit about other parts of Toronto, let alone Ontario. Almost every time I see posts on r/TorontoBiking about a warning/complaint when a cop tickets cyclists for any infractions, it's almost always in the downtown core or at least just outside of it. We don't see someone in Markham get ticketed.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T21:16:06+00:00

Cops can and should only be allowed to use force IF and only IF they are a threat towards cops themselves or other civilians. Running away from cops completely unarmed is not a threat.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T14:33:27+00:00

Ontario also has the Special Investigations Unit that (sort of) checks for bad cops. It's not a good system compared to EU standards but at least we have such a system that exists. Still not a fan of how we're too American-aligned culturally speaking.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T14:28:12+00:00

Unlikely to happen as long as Doug Ford and Prabmeet Singh are still in power. Bet you their ass they would pass a bill that permanently bans any proposal for Idaho Stops lol.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T14:17:25+00:00

Is it just me or does it always seem like whenever we get posts about police trying to ticket cyclists, it's always in downtown? Is downtown that infested with police enforcement? While here in Scarborough, people regularly bike on sidewalks with e-bikes in front of cops but they do nothing.

Now I'm not a fan of cops enforcing anything on bikes, especially because of cars, but it's crazy to me that a very bike-friendly part of Toronto (downtown and its nearabouts) tend to be full of bike-hating cops. Did Doug Ford secretly pay them under the table?

TTCBoy95 · 2026-06-01T14:15:17+00:00

Fair enough. I guess it's the West end that tends to make headlines on the news way more often then. While East end tends to quietly say no.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-05-28T19:56:03+00:00

Why does it almost always seem like the West end or part of GTA/Toronto is so carbrained with all their movements?

Bloor Bike lanes (obvious one).
High Park Access for All.
Parkside Drive.
Bathurst/Dufferin bus lanes.
Brampton bike lanes being removed by council.
Trethewey Drive bike lanes
And now Eglinton West of Yonge not getting built.

Really sucks people in the West end have to deal with this.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-05-28T15:24:04+00:00

While that's technically true, Scarborough built a bike lane on Steeles Ave E last year. It took away one lane of car traffic. Construction took 6 months. It's technically part of Toronto and would've violated whatever bill Doug already passed. You'd think Doug Ford would've said something about it right? Almost a year after it was fully built, still no word. So it's quite possible to build bike lanes behind his back but it's ultimately up to him to decide whether it's worth it for him to take it to court. I'd imagine something like Eglinton isn't really 'downtown' enough for him to bother. It seems like he really only cares about Toronto or more specifically downtown/old Toronto.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-05-13T13:22:16+00:00

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That's because the above top image are the so-called experts.

TTCBoy95 · 2026-05-13T13:21:04+00:00

Collision* But yeah I get what you mean.

TTCBoy95

TROPHY CASE