More than 17,000 tickets were issued to drivers parked in bike lanes last year
It’s a major increase compared with 2024 and yet still not enough
Few things are more infuriating than drivers who illegally park in bike lanes, forcing cyclists to veer into the street. Blocking bike lanes can be extremely dangerous: in 2024, a 24-year-old cyclist was killed in Yorkville when she had to swerve around an illegally placed dumpster.
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A new report from Toronto Today says police in the city have finally cracked down. Per data obtained through a Freedom of Information request, more than 17,000 tickets were issued to drivers parked in bike lanes last year. This marks a 54 per cent increase over the year before.
A Toronto Police Service spokesperson told Toronto Today that the increase is due to targeted enforcement. “As cycling infrastructure continues to expand across the city, parking enforcement officers are spending more time proactively monitoring these locations to ensure bike lanes remain clear and safe for cyclists.”
The spokesperson added that tickets aren’t just for drivers who park and leave their vehicles but also for drivers who temporarily pull over in a designated bike lane. “Parking enforcement officers address these violations when observed, particularly in areas with high demand for curbside space.”
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
