Bike Lanes are Beautiful. Why Would People Want to Rip Them Out?

I rode about 14 km total in Toronto last week, most on bike lanes. The total distance was less than 10 km, since I rode much of the same route going to and from my destination. A good chunk was on Bloor, which was busy, with many more bikes parked at bike racks alongside the road. Bikes are efficient, so lots of people got where they were going, then parked to go shopping or work.

On that stretch of Bloor, I saw two ghost bikes, plus one on Dundas. For those who don’t know, a ghost bike is a memorial for a person killed by a person in a car or truck, while riding their bicycle. Three in the short distance I rode is a shockingly high number.

But the Ontario government is starting to rip out the bike lanes following a court case. They are knowingly putting the lives of citizens at greater risk. And yes, it is “knowingly”.

According to the CBC “Internal documents from the Transportation Ministry that were made public as part of a court challenge to Bill 212 — the legislation that gave the province sweeping control over municipal bike lanes — …include a report prepared by engineering and urban planning firm CIMA+, which said collisions for all road users could increase upwards of 54 per cent if bike lanes are removed, based on existing research.”

The irony of ripping out an excellent climate change mitigation measure and then being hit by a major storm last week is also not lost on me.

Protected bike lanes and safe sidewalks are essential public safety infrastructure, not luxury amenities.

Downtown Toronto multi-unit housing (whether condos or apartments) are being built with less and less parking, and more people are relying on transit, biking and walking. Removing bike lanes without looking at how people actually get around the city doesn’t make sense.

The proposed alternative of moving some bike lanes to side streets will add significant distance compared to the current route, with lots of turns and street crossings that don’t have signals. Why not move the cars to the side streets instead? They can navigate that extra distance more easily than a person taking a couple of kids to school or the library on a cargo bike. Or someone with panniers full of groceries.

Nine years ago, Premier Ford said felt safer in a bike lane. Now, people who aren’t brave enough to take on Toronto traffic will be forced to abandon cycling as a transportation option. I don’t live in Toronto, but I visit often and love riding around the city to explore or do errands. I have even blogged about it.

I’ll leave you with one last image from this report on the court decision. It was taken by Patrick Morrell of the CBC. Assuming each car has the average 1.5 people, compare the space for those 5 cars vs the fourteen cyclists.