Would you let your mom bike on Richmond? How the City fails our moms by refusing to provide a safe cycling detour

Would I let my mom ride on Richmond? No, I would not. Would you? (I came to the same judgement on Strachan). Just take a look at the state of our "dedicated" bike route when there's construction:

During construction, motorized vehicle access seemly must be preserved and prioritized, according to the unwritten rules of Transportation Services (even though they had no problem closing off College Street entirely). So people on bikes will just have to suck it up. And people like my mother will just have to stop cycling since what counts as the recommended "detour" for cyclists have no cycling infrastructure whatsoever.

For most of the rest of this year, Richmond between Church and York streets will be down to one lane for some major construction: "watermain replacement work, road reconstruction, sidewalk repairs and rebuilding the westbound tracks, which the TTC uses to detour streetcars." The best the City is willing to do is post some signs around the construction area to guide cyclists and warn drivers to share the road. But this could hardly be considered the high water mark of a cycling city, where a high percentage of all traffic on Richmond and Adelaide are now cyclists.

The City has so far defended their decision by stating that there are parking garages and loading bays that have access to Richmond, and that it was required for EMS access. A review by Cycle Toronto staff revealed that all of these garages and bays have alternative access from other streets. And the protected bike lane is still open to access for EMS. This means that this isn't so much a necessity as a decision on prioritizing motor vehicle access over bike safety and comfort.

As NOW points out, Toronto is congested and bikes are going to be a big part of the solution. But just how does the City expect to help encourage people to take up cycling if they so easily rip away any comfort and safety that we're given?