The Ford government is planning to crack down on where new bike lanes can be built — and it comes as the city is planning to build new lanes in the heart of Ford Nation.
Village Media has confirmed the province's plans to introduce a major transportation bill when MPPs return to Queen's Park this fall that includes restrictions on new bike lanes, as well as other measures like allowing round-the-clock construction on key highway projects and a quicker environmental assessment process.
The bill, according to sources, would restrict municipalities' ability to build new bike lanes if it means existing car lanes are taken out.
It comes at a time when Premier Doug Ford and other Progressive Conservative MPPs have been voicing opposition to new bike lanes that have been extended into Etobicoke, the heart of Ford Nation.
Toronto is in the midst of a massive bike lane expansion: the city plans to add 100 kilometres of new lanes over the next three years.
Late last year, the premier went off-script at a press conference in Milton to chide Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on the issue.
"Get rid of those bike lanes on Bloor in Etobicoke. I think we see one bicycle come through there every single year," he said.
Christine Hogarth, a fellow PC MPP who reps Etobicoke—Lakeshore, which is just south of Ford's Etobicoke North riding, used her time during a committee hearing on the province's finances to complain about the lanes.
Some of the money from the new deal with Toronto went toward building lanes, she said, which increase congestion but "are also a safety hazard on Bloor Street in my riding in Etobicoke—Lakeshore, which we would really like to have that bike lane remodelled to a different road."
Rumours of a big transportation bill have been swirling for some time and were given a boost in mid-September when Ford said the government was contemplating some "game-changing" ideas for reducing congestion.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner pounced on the bike lanes idea in a press release on Sept. 20.
“This is an unserious proposal from an unserious government that doesn’t have a plan to tackle gridlock. There is literally no evidence that bike infrastructure makes traffic worse. What does make traffic worse is building communities where residents have no other option but to drive in order to get where they need to go," Schreiner said.
"Making it harder for people to bike is not only going to make traffic worse — it’s going to put cyclists in danger and lead to more deaths.”
On Sept. 25, Sports Minister Neil Lumsden held a press conference on concussion prevention where he largely dodged questions on whether bike lanes reduce concussion risk for cyclists.
"What I think we need to start seeing is individuals that are on bikes and scooters to first put a helmet on and strap it on properly," he said. "Suggesting a bike lane is a cause or not a cause isn't what we're talking about. We're talking about the protection."
"I can't control how people ride their bikes and how they handle themselves on the road. That comes down to their common sense," he said.
Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria held an unrelated press conference on Sept. 20 where he was asked about the proposed changes — but he didn't bite.
"I'm speaking with municipalities across the province each and every single day, (having) conversations with residents related to congestion, related to building this province, each and every single day. We continue, as always, to look at proposals to ease gridlock," he said.
Speaking about the highway changes, Sarkaria lamented the effect construction on the Gardiner has had on commutes into Toronto.
"The lane closures there have now resulted in individuals getting into the city ... including myself, increasing by, in some cases, over 30 minutes. So we have to look at a multitude of options," he said.