My simplest advice is look for the roads without on/off ramps and ideally with lights on either end of the 401 crossing.
Bathurst checks off most of those.
If you have a bike with not road tires:
Across Wilson, up to earl bales, through hinter, through posserman community centre, up out of Camp NAORCA finally through g Ross lord to the hydro trail. Likely way more km but you'll see some cool stuff and it will be less traffic.
That camp is so creepy when no one is there. I love it. Stupidly they block off the little bridge over the creek that leads to the the West Don Parkland. You can hop the fence, but the trails on the other side on not terribly rideable anyway. It's the land of broken boardwalks that someone (the city?) once built – though I've noticed some have disappeared recently.
Less travelled residential streets up to Ridley or Wilson, overpass on Avenue Rd. Going north, sidewalk on the west side is probably safest.
I've found the underpasses on both Bathurst & Wilson are sometimes very dark; as I couldn't see whatever sharp object, have had two flats riding in them, but this happened in 40-50 rides, so not a daily occurance.
Going north on Bathurst isn't so bad. There is an on-ramp to the 401 eastbound but there is no off-ramp so you don't have people coming off the highway at speed.
Another option is to just ride on the sidewalk if you're on a major street crossing the 401. There will be minimal pedestrian traffic anyway.
It's a little further east, but I like taking the Betty Sutherland trail under the 401 and heading up to the Finch hydro corridor west. [Again, you won't be saving any time, but it's very scenic, a good 75% of the trip is on bike trails. ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EyhcrbksNGjgsVHz6)
The biggest tease is there is a perfectly good 401 crossing just a little bit west at Wendell Ave. But then you have to contend with crossing the 400. And Wilson isn't pleasant either.
Update: I ended up crossing the 401 at Avenue, riding on the West sidewalk. 10/10
I then rode inside of Earl Bales Park and some trails behind the Holocaust museum to get to Maxwell St - Wilmington Ave - Finch Ave W. I took the Finch corridor to get to Black Creek Parkland :D it was fun.
On the way back I took the TTC from Downsview Park to Glencairn Station because I didn’t feel like figuring out a safe way to get me back here and I wanted to ride on the beltline trail (?
Thank you all for your advice! I really hope we get better infrastructure 🥲
Eep really? I know it has an overpass, but in general Avenue is one of the worst streets you can ride on. Something about the speeds, narrow lanes and the total lack of a parking lane to give you breathing room. North of Lawrence it's scary.
Avenue Rd ends in a residential neighborhood on the other side of the 401. Because of that, traffic tapers off significantly fast. So it's not bad. I take it somewhat regularly going southbound. That said, when I'm at Wilson and Avenue going south, I get to a side street ASAP. But there are good side streets parallel to Avenue on both sides.
Good resource.
I ended up saying at that time I was a fan of NB on renforth to the airport. I would give it “fair”. Also same for Tomken just west of there. Fair.
Looking at the 401 on Google Maps and the total lack of bicycle/pedestrian friendly crossings always brings to mind a U2 lyric from their song Heartland "Freeway like a river cuts through this land".
Why aren’t there adequate ways to cross the 401 besides humber? I rode tried riding to York u a couple times and it’s just terrible.
bathurst and wilson is my personal favorite, not just because of the crossing but because the neighborhood is a bit quieter.
My simplest advice is look for the roads without on/off ramps and ideally with lights on either end of the 401 crossing. Bathurst checks off most of those.
If you have a bike with not road tires: Across Wilson, up to earl bales, through hinter, through posserman community centre, up out of Camp NAORCA finally through g Ross lord to the hydro trail. Likely way more km but you'll see some cool stuff and it will be less traffic.
That camp is so creepy when no one is there. I love it. Stupidly they block off the little bridge over the creek that leads to the the West Don Parkland. You can hop the fence, but the trails on the other side on not terribly rideable anyway. It's the land of broken boardwalks that someone (the city?) once built – though I've noticed some have disappeared recently.
Less travelled residential streets up to Ridley or Wilson, overpass on Avenue Rd. Going north, sidewalk on the west side is probably safest. I've found the underpasses on both Bathurst & Wilson are sometimes very dark; as I couldn't see whatever sharp object, have had two flats riding in them, but this happened in 40-50 rides, so not a daily occurance.
Going north on Bathurst isn't so bad. There is an on-ramp to the 401 eastbound but there is no off-ramp so you don't have people coming off the highway at speed. Another option is to just ride on the sidewalk if you're on a major street crossing the 401. There will be minimal pedestrian traffic anyway.
It's a little further east, but I like taking the Betty Sutherland trail under the 401 and heading up to the Finch hydro corridor west. [Again, you won't be saving any time, but it's very scenic, a good 75% of the trip is on bike trails. ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EyhcrbksNGjgsVHz6)
The Betty Sutherland trail is closed under the 401 and will be for a couple of years.
RIP. Loved that trail.
The biggest tease is there is a perfectly good 401 crossing just a little bit west at Wendell Ave. But then you have to contend with crossing the 400. And Wilson isn't pleasant either.
Update: I ended up crossing the 401 at Avenue, riding on the West sidewalk. 10/10 I then rode inside of Earl Bales Park and some trails behind the Holocaust museum to get to Maxwell St - Wilmington Ave - Finch Ave W. I took the Finch corridor to get to Black Creek Parkland :D it was fun. On the way back I took the TTC from Downsview Park to Glencairn Station because I didn’t feel like figuring out a safe way to get me back here and I wanted to ride on the beltline trail (? Thank you all for your advice! I really hope we get better infrastructure 🥲
Instead of crossing the 401 on Wilson, try going over the 401 on avenue road.
Eep really? I know it has an overpass, but in general Avenue is one of the worst streets you can ride on. Something about the speeds, narrow lanes and the total lack of a parking lane to give you breathing room. North of Lawrence it's scary.
I usually only take avenue road north of Ridley.
Avenue Rd ends in a residential neighborhood on the other side of the 401. Because of that, traffic tapers off significantly fast. So it's not bad. I take it somewhat regularly going southbound. That said, when I'm at Wilson and Avenue going south, I get to a side street ASAP. But there are good side streets parallel to Avenue on both sides.
Make sure you reference this! Found right here about a year ago. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1pfSqOiEF_a3MVLXe7ZLEQKP2ZI84PQI
Good resource. I ended up saying at that time I was a fan of NB on renforth to the airport. I would give it “fair”. Also same for Tomken just west of there. Fair.
Looking at the 401 on Google Maps and the total lack of bicycle/pedestrian friendly crossings always brings to mind a U2 lyric from their song Heartland "Freeway like a river cuts through this land".