13 Ottawa councillors call on Ontario to scrap legislation that restricts bike lanes

Thirteen Ottawa councillors have launched an online petition calling on Premier Doug Ford to hit the brakes on legislation that would restrict where bike lanes can be built in Ontario.

The Ontario government introduced legislation earlier this month that will require municipalities to receive provincial approval before removing traffic lanes to install new bike lanes.  Ford says Ontario will also look at removing and replacing “existing bike lanes on primary roads that are bringing traffic in our cities to an absolute standstill.”

An open letter on Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster’s website asks people to “stand up for cycling infrastructure in Ontario.”  Troster says the Ontario government’s new legislation on bike lanes would “put almost all of the projects in the City’s Active Transportation Master Plan at risk.”

“This legislation undermines good transportation planning, and we are concerned it will make it more difficult to build bike infrastructure that can reduce the number of deaths and catastrophic injuries on our roads,” the letter states. “It will also put all of the city’s goals to mitigate climate change at risk.”

Twelve councillors joined Troster in signing the open letter – Laura Dudas, Glen Gower, Theresa Kavanagh, Laine Johnson, Sean Devine, Jessica Bradley, Stephanie Plante, Rawlson King, Jeff Leiper, Riley Brockington, Shawn Menard and Marty Carr.

“While it often goes underdiscussed in conversations about traffic and modal share, the reality is that many cycling infrastructure projects are put in as a direct response to tragic accidents and deaths of cyclists on the road,” the letter states.

“Cyclists are not just statistics – they are beloved family members, colleagues, and community members. This legislation is profoundly disrespectful to thousands of Ontarians whose lives have been profoundly changed by a road accident.”

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Council is currently finalizing Ottawa’s Transportation Master Plan, the long-range blueprint for transportation plans for Ottawa. Staff say the plan addresses, “critical missing links in the city’s active transportation network.”

There are over 100 cycling projects listed in the draft Transportation Master Plan, including separated cycling lanes on Innes Road, Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard, Richmond Road, Maitland Avenue, Pinecrest Road and Greenbank Road, Woodroffe Avenue, Meadowlands Drive, Smyth Road, Riverside Drive, and Bank Street south. The plan also proposes looking at the feasibility of bike lanes on Bank Street through the Glebe, on Elgin Street, Sussex Drive and Somerset Street.

The Transportation Trends Report as part of the Transportation Master Plan update shows cycling accounted for 3.9 per cent of all daily trips in Ottawa in 2022, up from 1.9 per cent in 2011.

“Premier Ford, Ontarians want common sense policies – to get from Point A to Point B safely and securely whether that’s on foot, by bike, by bus, by train, and by car,” the letter states.

“Bicycles are part of traffic and deserve space on our roads. Municipalities know what their residents are asking for, and it’s safer streets. There’s still time for the province to do the right thing for Ontarians, and to pull back from this outrageous over-reach and withdraw this uninformed and dangerous bill.”