Disturbing video reveals dangers when bike lanes are blocked for kids
Young riders forced to have a dangerous commute

Bike lanes are for bikes. They help riders of all ages get from A to B. School is back, which means young cyclists are heading to school. Separate cycle tracks and bike lanes are extremely important for children who ride to and from their place of learning.
If a child is able to, riding a bike to school is a great way to start and end the day. Fresh air and some exercise with friends makes for a great book end after a full day at class.
This is the incredibly scary situation for kids when cars park in bike lanes
In East Toronto, there is a section of road that has a separate bike lane that is very popular as it’s a great way to get across town safely. The only problem is a Mercedes-Benz dealership often uses it to offload cars into the site.
The daily takeover of public cycling infrastructure for private business use by the car dealerships at River and Dundas is a problem. They both have gigantic parking lots, but continue to use the bike lane as a loading area @MercedesBenzCDN pic.twitter.com/ZxM2nzahEi
— NotSafe4BikesTO (@NotSafe4BikesTO) November 28, 2022
Many cycling advocates have pointed out the dangers to locals who ride there. When the 18-wheeler is dropping off vehicles, cyclists are forced into traffic. On Friday, the Bike Mayor of Toronto shared a very scary situation. Several kids were riding to school at 7:30 a.m., a busy time with people driving to work. The young cyclists had to go all the way around the truck as the bike lane was completely blocked. There was an adult who was riding with them, but it’s just as sketchy for them.
It’s a terrifying situation for any cyclist of any age, but as a parent, watching this video must be infuriating.
Why @MercedesBenzCDN? Why would you want to purposely create a situation that places vulnerable road users in danger of being hurt or killed on our public streets?
Tagging @MayorOliviaChow because it doesn’t seem like anyone else is able to find the #PoliticalWill to stop this. https://t.co/FrytdkTwCj pic.twitter.com/QbzM4a0Shg
— Bicycle Mayor of Toronto (@BicycleMayorTO) September 15, 2023