Premier not focused on Ottawa as Ontario plans to rip up bike lanes

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's not concerned about the bike lanes in Ottawa, as the government seeks to rip up cycling paths on major roads in Toronto and other parts of the province.

Asked if there were any cycling paths he would consider removing in Ottawa, Ford told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Bill Carroll that he felt the city's traffic moved better than in Toronto.

"In Toronto, it’s bike lanes on steroids," he said.

"We're focused on Toronto, we're focused on Yonge Street, University and Bloor streets, a few other ones. I'll work with the mayor, but when I was [in Ottawa], the traffic was moving fairly well."

The Progressive Conservative government tabled a bill last month that would require municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic. The government later went further, proposing a new rule that would require the city of Toronto to rip up some bike lanes and restore them for vehicle traffic.

"We just want to get traffic moving forward and we want to make sure the bike people are safe," Ford said.

Transportation minister Prabmeet Sakaria singled out Ottawa and other cities last month while announcing the legislation, saying bike lanes have expanded drastically and raised uncertainty about their impacts on traffic.

"Like for the underused bike lanes on Cedar and Joseph Streets in downtown Kitchener that are making it difficult for emergency vehicles to get through or O'Connor Street in Ottawa, where lanes were pointlessly taken away on a key artery making it unsafe for drivers and cyclists alike," he said.

There are over 100 cycling projects listed in the draft Transportation Master Plan in the city of Ottawa, 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 city is also exploring the feasibility of bike lanes on Bank Street through the Glebe, on Elgin Street, Sussex Drive and Somerset Street.

Thirteen city councillors have signed an open letter opposing the legislation. Many have called it an overreach for the province to step in to transportation decisions made by municipalities.

Community groups supporting bike lanes protested in front of the Chateau Laurier hotel on Tuesday while Ford spoke at a conference hosted by the Economic Club of Canada.

"I'm here to suggest that Doug Ford has no business interfering with cities bike lanes. That would be up to municipal politicians and if the people of those cities don't like it, they can vote those politicians out. But it's not Doug Ford's business to be destroying our bike lanes or bike infrastructure," said cyclist Hans Posthuma at the protest.

Ford announced new funding for police and other public safety initiatives to aid asylum seekers and homeless residents at the conference on Tuesday.

During a "fireside chat" with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, bike lanes were not discussed.