Ontario plans to remove Toronto bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, University

Ontario is planning to remove sections of bike lanes on three major roads in Toronto, as it considers whether to rip up more bike lanes elsewhere.

The Progressive Conservative government tabled a bill last week that would require municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.

The government is going further through regulation, posting a proposed new rule that would require the province to remove sections of Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue bike lanes and restore them as lanes for vehicle traffic.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has complained about some bike lanes creating gridlock, in particular a stretch of Bloor Street West that is about a 10-minute drive from his home in Toronto's west end.

The regulation, which is posted for public comment until Nov. 20, says Ontario would also establish a review process for existing bike lanes that were created through removing a lane of vehicle traffic to decide if they should be maintained or removed.

The posting says the City of Toronto would be required to "provide support to facilitate" the removal of the three named bike lanes, and that an exemption from the Environmental Assessment Act would be included.

Toronto opposed to proposed regulation, mayor says

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement on Thursday that the city is opposed to the proposed regulation.

"By ripping up our roads, the province will only make congestion worse and our streets less safe for cyclists and drivers alike," Chow said in the statement. 

"The city's preference is to work collaboratively with the province to address issues, rather than be subject to arbitrary and costly infrastructure changes which are not based on any evidence."

University bike lanes didn't impact car travel times: data

The city said it plans to release year-round data from 18 locations on its bike lane network at the end of November, but data from its University Avenue bike lanes shows that congestion is likely due not to the cycle tracks but to construction projects.

The city said when it designed the University Avenue bike lanes, which run between Adelaide Street and Avenue Road, it consulted its emergency service partners and administrators of hospitals along the corridor, part of which is known as Hospital Row. The lanes were installed in 2020.

"Data analysis during a 12-month evaluation period following the street configuration changes shows limited to no impacts on motor vehicle travel times," the city said. 

"Emergency services have not raised any issues about traffic on University Avenue with the city," the city added.

"Emergency services are accustomed to maneuvering through a variety of road conditions throughout the city on a daily basis and will continue to take the route that provides the fastest response based on the specific conditions at the time of dispatch." 

Construction 'likely' contributed to congestion, city says

Currently, however, a significant amount of construction is taking place on University Avenue to improve aging infrastructure and to install a new transit line, the city added.

According to the city, Metrolinx's Ontario Line construction has affected several vehicle lanes on University Avenue near Queen Street West.  

Meanwhile, at Museum Station near Bloor Street West, the TTC is installing new elevators, which has led to the closure of the bike lanes and several vehicles lanes.

Between Dundas and College Streets, the city finished watermain and road rehabilitation work on the east side of University Avenue in 2023 and 2024.  

"This work and accompanying lane restrictions are likely the main contributors to any additional traffic congestion in this area," the city said. 

As for the Bloor Street and Yonge Street bike lanes, the city said the data shows they are well used.

The city said the data shows:

• Winter cycling volumes are 34 per cent of summer cycling volumes on average, as measured at seven locations on Yonge Street, Sherbourne Street, and Bloor Street, ranging from 23 per cent (at Bloor Street and Oakmount road near High Park) to 49 per cent (at Bloor Street and Markham Street) of summer volumes. (Winter is defined as December, January and February, while summer is defined as June, July and August).

• Summer daily average cycling volumes increased by 20 per cent from 2023 to 2024 at Bloor Street and Oakmount Road near High Park.

• Daily average winter cycling volumes increased by more than 50 per cent on the Yonge Street cycle tracks from 2022/2023 to 2023/2024.

• Summer average daily cycling volumes in 2024 were: about 2,200 on Sherbourne Street; about 4,100 on Bloor Street at Markham Street; about 1,700 on Bloor St. at Oakmount Road.