Toronto’s Bike Share expanding out to the Beaches, Yonge and Eglinton

By News Staff

You don’t have to be a downtowner anymore to take full advantage of the Bike Share program.

Touting the success of the bike rental program over the last two years, Mayor John Tory announced that thanks to an ongoing commitment with the federal government and Metrolinx, Bike Share will be bringing 1,000 new bikes to the street and expanding the service.

Both the federal government and the City of Toronto have committed up to $4 million to fund the bike program, along with Metrolinx, which is contributing $980,000.

“The Government of Canada is proud to support the Bike Share Toronto expansion project, which will promote active lifestyles and allow residents to have a broader range of commuting options,” Marco Mendicino, MP for Eglinton-Lawrence, said in a statement.

“Cycling infrastructure is a key part of the City’s integrated transportation system, providing a low-cost transportation choice and working towards making Canadian communities a greener place to live.”

Tory said compared to other government-partnered initiatives, the Bike Share program is smaller and “doesn’t get as much attention” but that it’s an important part of helping people get around the city an an affordable way.

The new expansion will see the system grow to 360 stations and 3,750 bikes.

Tory called the success of the program an example of “if you build it, they will come.”

“In this last month of July, Bike Share hit a record number of users,” Tory said.

“That’s really the key to this — you put the stations in the right places, you put the bikes at the stations, you make sure that you have all the governments working to fund all off this,” Tory said.

Ninety new stations will be coming to the city, largely along the subway line, and will include locations as far north as Yonge and Eglinton and out to the Beaches in the east.

“We talk all the time about the last mile and what’s going to encourage people to use public transit as opposed to their car,” Tory said.

“The Bike Share program is a part of that because it will provide that answer to what people do for that last mile.”

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