Toronto cyclists frustrated by snow-blocked bike lanes week after record storm

Bike lanes running along Toronto's Bloor Street remain blocked as shown on Sunday Feb. 1, 2026 a week after the city received a historic dump of snow. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kathryn Mannie

TORONTO — Safety concerns have been top of mind for some Toronto cyclists who are voicing their frustrations over bike lanes still blocked by snow and ice a week after a historic storm blanketed the city.

Uber worker Karan Singh said he's been cycling in the street alongside cars to deliver food to Torontonians because most bike lanes in the city are unrideable.

It’s a “very scary” ordeal, Singh said, adding that drivers can become aggressive — often honking at or unsafely passing cyclists — while sharing the road.

Staying home isn’t an option, either, as he and many other food delivery workers can’t afford to take multiple days off work as the city continues snow removal efforts, Singh said.

Biking advocate and lawyer David Shellnutt shares the delivery worker's concerns. He said he’s observed the majority of Toronto’s main bike lanes along Bloor Street, University Avenue, College Street and others still choked with snow.

Shellnutt is a founding member and regular rider for the Toronto Bike Brigade, a group of volunteer cyclists who work with food banks to deliver meals to food-insecure Torontonians.

Since last Sunday’s record snowfall, many of the bike brigade’s volunteers have taken a step back from delivering food because they don’t feel safe riding in the street while bike lanes are blocked, according to Shellnutt.

In the meantime, the lawyer has been picking up some of the extra slack by delivering meals with his cargo bike.

“I'm taking the lane because there's not enough space for people to pass me. It's scary for me and I've been biking since I was a kid,” said Shellnutt, who called riding alongside cars “swimming with the sharks.”

Shellnutt, who often represents cyclists injured on Toronto’s streets, said he fears the city will see a spike in collisions involving vehicles and bikes.

“They’ve taken away our safe infrastructure, in effect, by not clearing it,” he said.

Biking advocate Michael Longfield of Cycle Toronto is calling on the city to communicate a clear plan for removing snow from bike lanes.

“I think there’s been a lot of patience and a lot of understanding that this was a major snow event,” Longfield said. “But I think at this point folks are starting to wonder what’s the plan?”

“It's been a week and we don't really have any clarity on when these bikeways will be clear and usable,” he added.

The City of Toronto said last week that efforts to clear bikeways and sidewalks were expected to take several days due to the significant amount of snow.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, the city said it has received approximately 260 calls to 311 regarding bike lane maintenance in the last week alone, though that only represents 1.6 per cent of all winter maintenance calls.

Crews are currently out removing snow from bike lanes, the city said, though due to the size of the city and the volume of snow, the municipality cannot provide a specific timeline for when all 956 kilometres of bikeways will be cleared.

“During prolonged or heavy snowfall, crews often need to return multiple times to maintain safe conditions as bike lanes can become re‑covered by snow after being cleared due to passing traffic, blowing snow or nearby road plowing operations,” the city added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.

Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press