Cyclists rally to save Toronto bike lanes, while premier promises to rip some out | CBC News

Hundreds of cyclists and a handful of politicians gathered on Wednesday to oppose the Ford government’s decision for municipalities to get provincial approval before building any new bike lanes and to rip out some other existing ones. 

The announcement was made last week, with the bill being tabled on Monday.

The legislation would require municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.

The province is also trying to give itself power through regulation to remove existing bike lanes, although it’s not clear how that process will work.

“That is not acceptable. Safe streets save lives. They’re installed for a reason and the primary reason is safety,” said Jess Spieker, spokesperson for Friends and Families for Safe Streets.

“An assault on safety, which is what it is if you rip out safe streets, that’s an assault on every Ontarian, because the bill will apply across the province.”

Cyclists think ripping out existing bike lanes is a waste of taxpayer money and chanted “Doug Ford! Stay in your lane!” while saying he should focus on more important things like health care and education, among others. 

“It’s outrageous. Taxpayer money could be better spent on health care and schools,” Andy McLachlan, cyclist at the rally, said.

Joey Schwartz, co-organizer with Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC), says the government wants to use millions of dollars in removing bike lanes that are already part of the permanent infrastructure and in doing so only make the roads worse for everyone.

He said bike lanes on major roads “make it safer for drivers, make it safer for cyclists and it makes it safer for pedestrians. So it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised last week to clear some bike lanes, and the government appears to have several Toronto examples in mind.

“It isn’t enough to keep an eye on future bike lanes,” Ford had said last week in a speech at Toronto’s Empire Club. “We need to and will remove and replace existing bike lanes on primary roads that are bringing traffic in our cities to a standstill.”

While speaking at Queen’s Park on Wednesday morning, Ford had said the “crowded streets that are just absolute insanity right now are Bloor, Yonge and on University.”

These are the same streets he had pointed out in September while talking about bike lanes causing congestion.

When asked to specify which bike lanes in Toronto would be removed, the Ministry of Transportation said Wednesday, “we all know which lanes are causing further congestion across our city. Those are the ones we’ll be focusing on as we work through the review process.”

Do bike lanes really cause more traffic congestion?

Jessica Bell, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario, who was present at the rally, said that this morning the minister of transportation had said only 1.2 per cent of Ontarians commute by bike — an old statistic from 2011.

Bell said cycling advocacy group Share the Road Cycling Coalition, has a poll from 2023 that shows 22 per cent of Ontarians cycle on a daily basis.

Studies from around the world have also shown bike lanes ease congestion, reduce emissions and are a boon to businesses.

“Ripping up our roads like this will make people less safe, make traffic worse, and put lives at risk. Full stop. I challenge the premier to talk to people who have lost loved ones on our roads and hear their stories,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said.

She says traffic congestion in the city is partially the province’s fault for failing to deliver major transit projects.

“The congestion in this city is partially the result of the province’s failure to deliver transit projects on time and has led to long construction delays and years of road closures.”

“Stay in your lane, open the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT and fix the chaos at Metrolinx,” she said.

The province should tackle congestion and keep people safe at the same time, Chow, who is also an avid cyclist said.