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Ontario has passed a law that requires municipalities to obtain approval before installing bike lanes on arterial roads and may also lead to the removal of some current Toronto lanes.
The government fast-tracked the bill through the legislature and it received royal assent on Nov. 25 after passing its third reading by a vote of 66-27.
Premier Doug Ford has been vocal for months about the need to address the congestion on Toronto roads by removing bike lanes on major roads.
The province is focusing on “three or four roads” to get traffic moving, Ford said at an unrelated Nov. 25 press conference in Burlington, Ont., adding that Ontario is working collaboratively with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“She believes the Bloor Street West [lanes] should not be there, the previous mayor admits that he made a mistake,” Ford said.
“The government wants to block lawsuits arising from people being injured and killed because of the removal of the Bloor, Yonge, and University Avenue bike lanes,” she said. “It shows the Conservatives know full well that incidents of injury and death are going to go up.”
Sarkaria said it is better for cyclists “to use secondary roads, which is also safer for them.”
“We’ve got to get this city moving,” he said. “It’s about making sure that everyone is safe on the roads.”
Many cycling advocates have spoken out against the removal of bike lanes and hundreds of enthusiasts showed up outside Queens Park Nov. 23 to protest the legislation.
The protest was organized by Fight for Bikes, a group started by two University of Toronto students to oppose the bill.
The founders, Zev Godfrey and Eva Stanger-Ross, said bike lanes help many Torontonians who can’t afford vehicles or daily transit use to get around the city.
The legislation also contains language allowing the province to expedite the construction of priority highway projects including Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.
Highway 413 will extend from Highway 400 in the east to the Highway 401/407 express toll route interchange area in the west and will boast four to six lanes, connecting the regions of York, Peel, and Halton.
The project will include a four-kilometre extension to Highway 410 and a three kilometre extension to Highway 427 for a total of 59 kilometres for the corridor.