Chow, Ford strike collaborative tone on future of Toronto bike lanes

Cyclists ride on the designated Bloor Street bike lanes in Toronto. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press)

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appear to have found middle ground on the future of bike lanes in the city as the province looks to rip up 19 kilometres of cycling infrastructure on three major roads.

Chow said Friday that city staff have identified areas where car lanes can be restored while keeping bike lanes intact and that her team is currently looking at technical drawings to determine their feasibility.

“So, I think that’s a solution that can be arrived at through collaboration, which is what we’re doing right now,” Chow said after joking that Ford rode a bicycle to Friday’s unrelated news conference at city hall.

Ford’s government passed legislation last year to remove sections of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in an effort to reduce gridlock. The legislation also requires that municipalities ask the province for permission to install a bike lane if a lane for cars would be removed.

In April, lawyers for a cycling advocacy group challenging the removal of those bike lanes were granted an injunction, which paused the provincial plans until a judge decides on the constitutionality of the case. The Ontario government is appealing that decision.

Ford lashed out at what he called “bleeding heart judges” following the injunction being granted and suggested that Ontario should elect their judges, like they do in the U.S.

However, he struck a more agreeable tone on Friday.

“I want to work collaboratively with the mayor, and when it comes to the bike lanes, we had a clear mandate in the last election, but the fact is, we’re talking about three bike lanes, and hopefully we can find alternatives and work with the mayor and with the city staff. That’s what we want to do,” Ford said, adding that he doesn’t “hate bike riders or bike lanes.”

Ford said while the conversations about bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University are ongoing, “98 per cent” of the city’s other bike lanes would be “left alone.” According to the provincial budget released last month, the government is also “working to reinstate vehicle lanes” on Avenue Road and Queen’s Park Crescent.

It’s unclear which areas along those three major streets have been identified as viable options to reintroduce a car lane, but a source familiar with the plan told The Canadian Press in April that it includes returning two car lanes to University Avenue near the city’s hospital row, and narrowing the bike lanes and removing on-street parking.

The province didn’t reject the idea and said it was “open” to the idea, so long as the city funds their portion of “their identified infrastructure needs.”

With files from The Canadian Press