Bike lanes are proven to…

Bike lanes are proven to reduce congestion: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7358319. The provincial government is overstepping it's jurisdiction and meddling in affairs it doesn't understand.

Sure removing a lane decreases the car-capacity of a road, but it increases the safety of cyclists, encouraging bicycle use for short-distance commutes, and removing cars from the road. The net effect is likely a reduction in traffic congestion.

The Ontario government should not make decisions for municipalities to remove bile lanes, especially when it hasn't run any studies to understand the impacts on traffic.

Also: the addition of highways won't solve gridlock because more cars will use them and you'll just get more roads that are gridlocked.