The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.
The discussions come ahead of the introduction of a gridlock reduction bill that is expected to be tabled this fall.
Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was specifically asked about the idea during an unrelated news conference on Friday morning but would not confirm whether or not it was something under consideration.
“We examine a multitude of proposals when it comes to congestion management,” he said. “Every (legislative) session that we get a chance we are looking at ways to make life easier for people and we are looking at ways to reduce gridlock in this province. We have seen a record amount of gridlock…”
Toronto has significantly expanded its bike lane infrastructure in recent years and currently has a three-year plan to deliver 100 kilometres of either new or significantly upgraded bikeways by 2027.
During a news conference on Friday morning, Mayor Olivia Chow was asked about the possibility that the province could seek to limit the installation of new bike lanes but noted that she hasn’t had “any conversations” or “seen any legislation.”
Chow went on to express concerns about any attempt to limit bike lane infrastructure.
"If you stand at Bloor and St. George (streets) and imagine everyone that is on a bike, if they are all driving, that intersection, nothing would be moving,” she said. “Just on Bloor Street alone, it could be Bloor and University, imagine all of those cyclists driving even if it was just 60 or 70 per cent. I can’t imagine what would happen if we yank out some of the bike lanes. It would just make congestion worse."
The city’s long-term plan calls for the addition of 500 kilometres of new bike lanes along major corridors by 2041 and the municipality is almost at the halfway point of that goal.
But it has faced community opposition with several recent projects, including an expansion of the Bloor Street West bike lanes into Etobicoke last year.
Premier Doug Ford has previously called on Toronto to remove those bike lanes, telling reporters in October that they are not widely used and are causing business to “lose their hair.”
Speaking with CP24 on Friday, Ward 19, Beaches-East York Coun. Brad Bradford said that while the city hasn’t seen any legislation yet “it is very telling that these things are coming forward because there is a problem here in the City of Toronto” when it comes to the placement of some bike lanes.
“I don’t need province to tell me we shouldn’t have bike lanes on Bloor West. That is common sense. We don’t need the province to fix that for us. We need common sense leadership at city hall,” he said. “We have all the tools here in this building to make those decisions. We just don’t have the leadership on that file to listen to communities, to listen to small businesses and have a better understanding on where we are going to build the bike lanes. It can’t be everywhere.”