The Ontario government may be easing off the idea of removing bike lanes from main arterial roads in Toronto as a result of discussions taking place with the city.
The Ford government has been working towards removing bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in Toronto for months.
Bill 212, legislation that required cities to get provincial approval to install a bike lane if it removes a lane of traffic and allowed for the removal of some bike lanes, was passed back in the Fall of 2024.
Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria have said the goal was to battle congestion in the core.
“Our non-negotiable is to get a lane of traffic back into place to reduce the congestion and allow people to move more freely. And we will work with the city if there are alternatives ways to reinstate a bike lane, but for our us, the lane of traffic has to be back,” said Sarkaria at a press conference Tuesday alongside Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
But new discussions with the City may have Queen’s Park changing course from targeting Bloor, Yonge and University.
“There are sections where it could be a win-win solution where we could add in the car lanes back in but protect the cyclist and have still a bike lane,” added Chow.
Last month, a temporary injunction to keep the province from moving ahead with the removal was rejected. However, an internal Ministry of Transportation document estimated that construction to remove the lanes might not begin until 2026.
Matti Siemiatycki, Director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, said he thinks there is a happy medium that can be found between what the province wants and what the city wants.
“I’d want to see what the technical solution is. All the way along here, the key is that the bike lanes are evidence-based and that they’re being well used and that they’re improving safety,” said Siemiatycki.
Residents and business owners along Bloor in Etobicoke and midtown neighbourhoods along Yonge have been very vocal in their opposition to the bike lanes.
Several business owners along a stretch of Bloor have sued the City, Etobicoke-Lakeshore councillor Amber Morley and Toronto’s Transportation Services General Manager Barbara Grey for “negligence and nuisance” and have called for the removal of the bike lanes.
However, further east on Bloor, the Bloor-Annex BIA condemned removing bike lanes, releasing statistics that show the success of the Bloor bike lane, and other bike lanes in the Annex area, saying it was “dismayed” after hearing they could be removed.
“I think it’s clear in the center of the city in those parts that they are being used and that you’ve seen businesses come out and say they’re in favor of these bike lanes that they actually support their business rather than inhibit them,” said Siemiatycki. “So there are places where they do work and there’s other parts where at the very least they need to be tweaked more as you move into the more suburban areas … I think bringing an evidence-based approach and seeing that go forward I think could be a positive win-win solution here.”
Chow said that’s where there could be room for a compromise, but she’s still making the case for other areas she says are well used and not causing problems for vehicles
“In other areas where some of the bike lanes have been established for a long time and are working well and the local businesses and all the residents really love these bike lanes and it’s used by tens of thousands of cyclist, there’s no reason to touch those.”
The Ford government, for its part, said it is open to more discussion but is putting the brakes on anything that doesn’t involve restoring more space for cars
“We will work with the city if there are alternatives ways to reinstate a bike lane, but for our us, the lane of traffic has to be back,” said Sarkaria.
A statement from the Ministry confirmed they are open to discussion. “Where both a reinstated car lane and a bike lane can exist, we are open to collaboration with the city of Toronto, provided they fund their portion of their identified infrastructure needs.”
Meanwhile, cycling advocates, Cycle Toronto, will have their Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge heard on April 16.
They have claimed the bike lane removals violate a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and argue the province’s actions infringe on the rights of cyclists, pedestrians and other road uses by depriving them of life and security of the person.
