This is the view east from just west of Wellesley and Church:

Why do I like this view so much?

Wellesley and Church is a great vibrant urban neighbourhood downtown… it’s a mix of a ton of things that make Toronto great: large numbers of people, diverse cultures, chain retailers and independent stores, highrise buildings and low-rise homes.

The Wellesley bikelane is my favourite bikelane in the city … they put it in last year, striping off parts of the road that were already well used by cyclists.  Before the bikelanes, there was still just 1 car lane in each direction… but cars sort of went all over the place.  Now, cars stay in their lanes (for the most part) and cyclists have a clear ride.

Lots of people.   There are always lots of cars, cyclists and pedestrians in this area.  Just behind me when I took these photos is a crosswalk across Wellesley between Yonge and Church and I always have to stop for people crossing the street (which I’m glad to do).   Traffic is slow, and that makes things interesting.

The condo at Wellesley and Sherbourne.  That tall building in the background was finished last year, and improves the eastern view considerably (in my opinion).  Like all the other condos going up downtown, it’s a building that makes a big visual impact and impression of a thriving dense city.  The more people living downtown, the more people-friendly our city will be.

Plus, the condo is built on the curve of Wellesley between Jarvis and Sherbourne, so you can see it for a long way.

Cyclists going eastbound over the Viaduct have to deal with crossing this off-ramp (which often has pretty quick traffic) so I thought capturing the how drivers and cyclists to highlight the need for some pavement markings (like a coloured bikelane) and lots of signs for drivers to give way to cyclists in this area..  Cars often go very fast along here, and crossing this lane can be hair-raising, even for experienced cyclists.