Bill 60 proposes to prohibit…

Bill 60 proposes to prohibit municipalities from reducing motor vehicle lanes for new bike lanes or other purposes (to be defined by regulation). This follows 2024’s Bill 212 changes to constrain local bike lane decisions, which I oppose. Municipalities, relying on local knowledge and community input, are best positioned to balance traffic flow with active transportation, road safety, and community needs. Biking is a key tool for combating congestion; bike lanes are an essential element of multi-modal planning that removes cars from the road for short trips and transit connections, thus alleviating congestion, not causing it.
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This bill strips cities of local authority and decision-making, even when projects are supported by evidence and local residents.

It will worsen traffic congestion, not reduce it. The government’s own experts have consistently said that bike lanes are not a cause of gridlock.

It will make roads more dangerous. Protected bike lanes prevent serious injuries and deaths for people biking, walking, and driving.

It threatens other uses of road space that communities rely on, including transit priority, safe crossings, patios, curbside access, and school streets.

It undermines climate goals and public health by locking cities into car-dependent street designs.

I own my own car, but I choose to bike from my home in Etobicoke to downtown Toronto daily, and year round. I do this for my own health and wellbeing, to improve air quality and traffic congestion in Toronto by not contributing another single occupancy motor vehicle to our roads, to achieve our climate goals and to help make Toronto a world class city, where people can safely live, work and play.

This is not about being “pro-bike” or “anti-car”. We need evidence-based transportation planning and local democracy. The facts and evidence are clear: bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion. Repeating it again and again and again doesn't make it true.