The buck stops at Queen’s Park for Toronto and other municipalities planning to install new bike lanes.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria provided more details Tuesday on the Ford government’s proposed legislation that will require municipalities to get provincial approval for bike lanes that remove lanes of traffic for cars, trucks and other vehicles.
The aim is to keep them off major thoroughfares like Bloor Street West, Sarkaria told reporters at a pool hall and bar on Bloor near Islington, where local residents and businesses have complained new bike lanes are lightly used and have slowed traffic.
“We’re seeing an explosion in bike lanes, including many that were installed during the pandemic when their impact on traffic was unclear,” said Sarkaria, who also announced plans to design new highways for speed limits above 120 km/h.
“While strategically placed bike lanes are a critical part of every city…what cities should not be doing, however, is taking away lanes of traffic on our most congested roads,” he added.
“Municipalities are still free to install bike lanes where they do not remove traffic.”
The legislation will be introduced after the the legislature returns Monday from an extended summer break and comes as Ford’s Progressive Conservatives position themselves for an early election, possibly next spring — a year ahead of the next scheduled provincewide vote in June 2026.
It’s expected the bike lane plan, limiting municipal powers, would appeal to suburban voters who rely more heavily on cars to get around.
Last week, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow proposed “a compromise that would reopen some car lanes but keep the bike lanes and make the design work better.”
It’s not clear how long it would take the province to consider and render a decision on proposed new bike lanes. Cycling advocates have expressed concerns that the process could effectively halt new lanes, depending on how long it takes.
The move comes in a year that has seen six cyclists killed on Toronto streets and cycling advocates have said bike lanes make riding safer while encouraging people to get out of their cars and onto two wheels.
Sarkaria said existing bike lanes will stay but the government will ask municipalities for data on all bike lanes that have been installed in the last five years.
