Bikes v cars: backlash after Ontario premier threatens to tear up cycling lanes in Toronto

On most days, the slowest way to travel through downtown Toronto is by car. Cyclists whiz by and pedestrians cast spiteful glances at vehicles trapped in the city’s gridlock. For those behind the wheel, anything can trigger frustration and rage.

Last month, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario province, shocked residents of Canada’s largest city when he pledged to rip out three of the city’s bike lanes “that are just absolutely insanity right now”.

The move, seen as a dramatic moment of government overreach, has provoked a fierce backlash from cyclists and city officials, and raised broader question about the future of cars – and bicycles – in large urban centres.

The Toronto city council has voted 21-4 to oppose a provincial bill which would grant Ontario the power to block planned cycle paths that remove a traffic lane. The province’s pledge to rip out recently installed infrastructure would cost $C48 million, according to a city report this week. The city also voted 22-3 against paying for any bike lane removal under the bill and is exploring legal challenges.

“Ripping up our roads will make our congestion worse, especially during the time that you’re ripping it up. It’s costly and it will make our roads less safe for cyclists,” Toronto’s mayor, Olivia Chow, told reporters.

The provincial transport minister, Prabmeet Sarkaria, says the plan will offset the C$11bn Toronto loses annually due to traffic congestion.

But critics say the goverment hasn’t produced any data to suggest the three lanes – on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue – are causing more delays than road or building construction, which often spills on to busy streets. Instead, they say, the premier, who commutes down Bloor, has based the controversial policy on anecdotal evidence.

“He’s deflecting from the failings and scandals of his government,” said Albert Koehl, an environmental lawyer and author of Wheeling Through Toronto. “He and others are stuck in traffic because there are too many people alone in their cars and they’re trying to scapegoat cyclists. It’s absurd.”

Christine Hogarth, a Progress Conservative member of the province’s legislature, supported Ford’s move, saying that opposition to bike lanes in her electoral district, which encompasses western portions of Bloor Street, is “unlike anything I’ve seen” in nearly three decades of politics.

Hogarth, who admits she isn’t a cyclist, said the issue is one that falls under the jurisdiction of the city council, which has overwhelming approved the projects.

“It is a city issue. But there comes a point where you can’t have this many people opposed to something. Traffic in Toronto is bad and removing car lanes only makes things worse. Somebody had to step in,” she said.

Hogarth argued that residents looking to move quickly along high-traffic streets like Bloor should take the subway network.

“We shouldn’t be creating additional gridlock for those drivers on these roads that were meant to move drivers. There are side roads, safer roads, for people to cycle. The reality is there should be bike lanes on some streets and maybe not on others.”

On a recent November morning, both lanes of a downtown stretch of Bloor Street were clogged with passenger vehicles while a string of bikes and electric mopeds sped by in the cycle lane. That evening, there was a similar scene: cyclists moved freely while drivers fought for inches.

“None of these people suggesting side streets can point to a map and say where it would be good idea to move these larger bike lanes,” said David Shellnutt, a lawyer who represents injured cyclists. “When you move people off main roads, you’re asking people – on their commutes, on their way to school, on their way to do groceries – to take the scenic route. And that’s just not going to happen.”

European cities have pushed forward with bike infrastructure, with Paris boasting 186 miles (315km) of dedicated bike lanes in 2021, a figure that has since increased. In North America, major US cities have also pressed forward with their own expansions of bike lanes.

But Ford has staked a position that Toronto’s notorious congestion could be eased by more highways and wider streets, and made the argument a key part of his upcoming re-election bid. Among other plans, Ford has controversially pledged to build a tunnel under the province’s busiest highway network.

“If this was really about congestion, if it was about costs and about keeping people safe and about keeping people healthy, then all the evidence is there to support bike lines. But because there’s no real evidence, we can see it’s just politics – and it plays really well for the premier,” said Shellnutt. “The negative reaction from downtown residents isn’t going to cost him votes. And it does well in the suburbs, so it’s a win-win.”

For cyclists, the costs of the debate are stark: this year, six have been killed in the city. Five of deaths occurred on streets without bike lanes. In the sixth, a young woman was killed when a cycle lane was blocked by a construction waste bin, forcing her into traffic. The city says 28 people have been killed over the last decade and 380 people have been “seriously injured”. Nearly 70% of collisions occurred on roads without “safe” cycling infrastructure.

“Bike lanes are put in after years of data-based decision making. They’re put in because people have died,” said Koehl, pointing out that much of the Bloor Street network was the result of nearly two decades of planning and debate. “To have a premier simply come in and say ‘I don’t like it. I’m going to undo it’ – that’s a problem.”

At times, the debate has turned nasty, reflecting a growing resentment between road users. Hogarth said she’s never received as many “angry and threatening” emails over any issue.

“People tell me they hope I get in a car accident and die. Maybe they don’t realize my little brother was killed by a car,” she said. “We’re people as well. We just want people to be safe.”

But cyclists fear their lives are at stake when they are pushed into traffic.

“Ford is stoking the flames of this culture war. And we worry it’s going to spill on to the roadways,” said Shellnutt. “You’re going to see vehicular assault. You’re going to see road rage incidents. It really feels there’s a target on the backs of cyclists in this city. The premier is playing politics with our safety.”