Proposed legislation to restrict new bike lanes
“I had tears in my eyes” Taxi spokesperson admits
This article was updated at 7:40am October 16th with a quote from Kristine Hubbard.
The Ontario government is introducing legislation that would, if passed, require municipalities to receive approval from the province before installing new bike lanes that would result in the removal of lanes for traffic. Municipalities would be required to demonstrate that the proposed bike lanes won’t have a negative impact on vehicle traffic.
“Cities in Ontario have seen an explosion of bike lanes, including many that were installed during the pandemic when fewer vehicles were on the road and their impacts on traffic were unclear,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation at a press conference on October 15th.
“Too many drivers are now stuck in gridlock as a result, which is why our government is bringing informed decision-making and oversight to bike lanes as well as taking steps to increase speed limits safely and clean up potholes.”
Taxi industry members applauded Sarkaria’s announcement with enthusiasm and relief.
“I had tears in my eyes, reading the news,” said Neil Shorey, Assistant General Manager at City Taxi in Toronto. “The idea that someone was using common sense while speaking about bike lanes….I had given up hope that it would ever happen in my lifetime.”
In Ottawa, Canadian Taxi Association president Marc Andre Way said the CTA “fully supports the idea.”
“Taxi drivers have found trying to navigate downtown streets very challenging,” Way told Taxi News. “The proliferation of bike lanes has not encouraged our drivers to work in the downtown core. At least with provincial oversight of new bike lanes, we can get to work on putting drivers in the right place, at the right time, to get people where they need to go.”
Way is also pleased to see municipalities pressed to improve pothole repair. As part of the October 15th event, Sarkaria announced that Ontario is consulting with municipalities to develop a potholes prevention and repair fund to open in the 2025 construction season. The program would support smaller municipalities with road maintenance and set standards to help improve road conditions and promote high-quality roadwork across the province.
Beck Taxi’s Operations Manager Kristine Hubbard notes that enforcement remains an issue: “Traffic laws are not being enforced. Think about regulating the hundreds of thousands of vehicles cruising and stopping illegally for food and Amazon deliveries and Uber passenger pickups,” she says. “Reduce the number of cars. Encourage people who want to ride a bike to do that. I’ve been super clear over the years for my support for bike lanes. Everyone needs a place where they belong and it’s what keeps people safe. If there are no bike lanes they’ll be on the sidewalk or in traffic. Neither of these scenarios is good.”
These proposed changes are part of upcoming legislation that will kick off the fall sitting of the Ontario legislature on October 21, 2024, with a focus on tackling gridlock and getting drivers and commuters across Ontario out of traffic.
Kingsway Business Improvement Area member Sam Pappas hosted the October 15th at his restaurant, The Crooked Cue, and gave impassioned remarks which described the chaos which occurred when the bike lanes were installed. “In all my years of living here, I have not seen anything unite the locals, like the rejection of the bike lanes. In a survey of local businesses, 100 responded, one voice their support. That’s a staggering 99% against,” Pappas said.
