Provincial mandate to remove bike lanes on busy streets to reduce traffic congestion affects all users.

Do you feel concerned about your safety when riding a bicycle in Toronto?

The increased number of vehicles on city streets has led to more traffic – and even more aggressive, entitled drivers. This combination may cause those who commute via bicycle, scooter, etc., to feel less safe while sharing the road with vehicles.

Recent changes made by the provincial government – the passing of Bill 212, ‘Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024’ – has sparked controversy. In particular, concerns have been raised over whether those bicycle commuters will have to tend with less safety precautions, with the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue.

Championed by Premier Doug Ford to help reduce the increasingly poor traffic, he said, “we are taking a fraction of bike lanes out on Yonge, Bloor, University. 98 per cent of the bike lanes will remain.”

His position on the matter has of course been met with skepticism.

Spadina-Fort York MPP Chris Glover, a member of the opposition NDP party, believes this is a tactic to take focus off what he calls failings of the government.

“I think the other purpose of this bill is to distract us from talking about the failures of this government. I mean, this government’s been in power for six years. Our housing starts at the lowest level since the 1950s. We’ve got a huge housing shortage that is not being addressed.

Glover adds that the government’s choice to remove people’s ability to sue them, should they be injured while on a bicycle, points to them knowing this is a bad idea.

“The safety issue that the government brought in an amendment to indemnify themselves if a cyclist is killed or injured after they’ve removed the lanes. I think it shows that they know that this action, could lead to injury or death for people.”

The bill was put forward as being data driven process to relieve the Greater Toronto Area’s major traffic problems.

However, cycling advocates disagree with the reasons the government gave for the removal of three highly used bike lanes.

An internal draft document shared within the government suggests that removing bike lanes may not achieve the desired outcome of reducing congestion. The draft cabinet briefing memo cites research carried out in cities like New York, Washington and Vancouver.

Cycling advocates believe that easing congestion is about giving people more transportation options and not removing what’s already available.

They shared that more lanes would attract more drivers, eventually making the problem worse. The activists also argue that removing bike lanes would not mean faster commuting, but instead cyclists would now be mixing in with the traffic, risking injury.

“Keep them, because there is no change to it (traffic congestion) either way. They (bike lanes) are there for a reason, even if it makes traffic, what can you do about it? It’s either that or someone’s going to get seriously hurt,” said Diego Guerra, a George Brown College student.

Injury lawyer Michael Connolly notes that eliminating bike lanes may increase risks to cyclists and other vulnerable road users that could have far-reaching consequences. Some of these are heightened healthcare costs, increased demands on emergency response services and potential legal expenses which would place financial strain on taxpayers.

Ford defended the government’s decision stating that the government’s priority is the safety of cyclists and that they should be on secondary roads and not on main arterial roads adding to the traffic.

He hopes to collaborate with the mayor saying both the current and the previous mayors agree that bike lanes like the one on Yonge Street were mistakes, costing billions of dollars to the economy when goods, people and services are transported quickly.

Cyclists should ensure that they are properly equipped with safety equipment while out on the roads. Following traffic rules and regulations is important for both drivers and cyclists to ensure safety of all road users.