Bike lanes: Ottawa councillor accuses province of 'pandering' to score 'easy political wins'

Ottawa councillor Jeff Leiper has not shied away from calling out the province for what he thinks is an ill-advised piece of legislation that would restrict where municipalities in Ontario can build bike lanes.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

On Monday, the Ford government introduced legislation that would require municipalities to receive provincial approval before removing traffic lanes to install new bike lanes.

The legislation could also result in bike lanes having to be ripped up, depending on data that municipalities would have to send to the province. The criteria that would determine whether a bike lane needs to be removed is not yet clear.

The province says it would cover any of the costs associated with ripping up bike lanes.It’s a move the provincial government says is meant to address traffic congestion on Ontario roads.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the plan will bring "informed decision making and oversight to a process that is frankly, out of control."

However, critics, including Leiper, have concerns with the motivations behind the bill.

"I question whether the province is going to be able to look at this data in any kind of coherent way to begin with. The province's job is not to look at city transportation patterns," he said.

"We have come up with a comprehensive plan for the City of Ottawa that takes into account all of that data. The province is going to be challenged to recreate that kind of analysis. This looks like snapshot data that may be cherry-picked in order to pursue a political agenda."

Many drivers in the city acknowledge that traffic headaches are an issue, with more cars on the road resulting in growing commutes.

"I think it's ridiculous. It is absolutely insane," said Alana Ladisa.

“It typically takes me, on a good day, an hour and a half to get home because any way I go, highway, Innes Roard, it’s all backed up."

Some, like Ladisa, are supportive of the province’s push to address that traffic congestion.

"When cyclists are driving in our lane, they don’t think it’s anything bad and they can do whatever they want," she said.

"If [the province] wants to eliminate bike lanes, more lanes for us, perfect. I think that’s a good idea."

Meanwhile, Leiper argues bike lanes will free up more options for people, which in turn will ease traffic woes.

He believes the Ford government is just looking to score political points.

"I think the province is pandering to perceptions that are inaccurate. I think they are scoring easy political wins based on how frustrated people are trying to move around their cities," said Leiper.

"It’s really easy for people to look at a new bike lane and blame that for how long it’s taking them to move around town. We know that’s not the case. The research demonstrates that bike lanes are not the cause of congestion."

Others, like Gary Edwards are against bike lanes altogether.

"Get rid of them. Especially in the downtown area, and that’s where they are," he said.

"I hate bike lanes in total. Obviously, I’m not a bike rider. I just think they’re dangerous. I think they restrict the flow of traffic and I don’t think they are very safe in general."

Ontarians can have their say on the issue by submitting comments and feedback to the legislation through the Environmental Registry of Ontario website. Public consultation is open until Nov. 20.

Cycling advocates are hoping the province will backpedal on the proposed legislation.

"There's going to be real impacts for communities and how people move about in their cities," said Dave Robertson, vice president of the group Bike Ottawa.

"Ripping out bike lanes is just going to make it more difficult to everyone including drivers. We need to give people options so that not everyone is driving."