Ontario government moving to restrict new bike lanes in municipalities

Ontario is planning to make cities ask the province for permission if they want to install bike lanes that would remove lanes of vehicle traffic. Cyclists ride in a bike lane in Toronto on Thursday, October 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the provincial government is introducing legislation that would require municipalities to receive provincial approval before removing traffic lanes to install new bike paths.

Sarkaria said the plan will bring "informed decision making and oversight to a process that is frankly, out of control."

Existing bike lanes will not have to be ripped up under the first stage of new legislation, Sarkaria said. However he said that the province will also be asking municipalities for data on projects initiated in the past five years to assess whether the province agrees.

 

"When strategically placed, bike lanes are a vital part of every city, offering residents a safe and a reliable way to move around," Sarkaria acknowledged. "What cities should not be doing, however, is taking away lanes of traffic on our more most congested roads."

He singled out Toronto's plan to massively expand its cycling network and said that some of the new lanes the city has installed were implemented during the pandemic, when there was uncertainty about the future of traffic in the city.

"I've always believed that Toronto is a world-class city where opportunities are endless, and anyone can achieve the Ontario dream. This is a place that consistently ranks among the most livable cities in the world, but when you ask anyone who lives here, they say that is changing," Sarkaria said.

He cited figures from Satellite Navigation Company TomTom indicating that commuters in the GTA are now wasting around 98 hours a year in rush-hour traffic congestion.

Asked about the decision-making process, Sarkaria said the decision about whether or not a new bike lane can be installed in a municipality will ultimately rest with the minister of transportation.

He said the government is also developing a plan to allow vehicles to travel safely at speeds higher than 120 km/h on new highways and to freeze driver testing fees at current levels.

The freeze on driving test fees will cost the government $72 million over 10 years, Sarkaria said.

More details to come…