Removing Toronto bike lanes will make traffic worse, official document shows

Source: The Guardian

Removing Toronto bike lanes will make traffic worse, official document shows

In preparation for plan, Ontario has indemnified itself from liability if cyclists are killed on streets that once had bike lanes

Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Fri 22 Nov 2024 17.21 GMT
Last modified on Fri 22 Nov 2024 17.51 GMT

Removing bike lanes from busy city streets will increase traffic congestion, according to a Canadian government document leaked amid a furious row over urban infrastructure.

The findings, which come as the province of Ontario goes to war over cycling infrastructure in Toronto, undercut claims that the dedicated routes contribute to urban gridlock.

The leak comes as the provincial government further intensified the stakes of the battle by shielding itself from any lawsuits arising from the death or injury of cyclists on roads where the bike lanes were removed. Critics have described the last-minute move as an admission by the province that “people will get hurt”.

Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, kicked off the row last month when he announced he would remove three of the city’s main bike routes. Ford, who commutes on a road shared with one of those bike lanes, said the protected lanes were major factors in the “insanity” of traffic congestion in Canada’s largest city.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/22/toronto-bike-lane-removal-congestion