‘It’s not a loophole:’ Toronto has plans to install 20 km of new bike lanes despite provincial legislation

Toronto has found a way to install 20 kilometres of new bike lanes while still complying with provincial legislation that places significant restrictions on new cycling infrastructure.

In a report set to go before Toronto’s infrastructure and environment committee on Thursday, city staff lay out an ambitious plan to install the new bike lanes and implement a number of other road safety improvements at a cost of $30.4 million.

The bike lane projects are predominantly slated for local roads, though there are also plans to install a bike lane on Keele Street between Steeles and Finch avenues and on Kingston Road between Cliffside Drive and Scarborough Golf Club Road.

City staff say that no lanes of traffic will be removed to make way for the new bike lanes and that the projects will largely be accomplished through the narrowing of some roads and the removal of some on-street parking spaces.

That would, in theory, ensure compliance with provincial legislation prohibiting municipalities from removing lanes of traffic for bike lanes without the approval of Queen’s Park.

“I, from day one, said there is a win-win solution. We keep the car lanes. We put the bike lanes in. Everybody’s happy,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said of the proposal during an unrelated press conference on Monday morning. “It’s not a loophole; it works. It’s just better design. It works.”

The proposal notes that some roadways have lanes of traffic that currently exceed the minimum widths mandated under city bylaws.

In those cases, staff are recommending that lanes be narrowed to current City of Toronto standards.

There are also instances in which city staff are recommending the reduction of some speed limits “in conjunction with the proposed lane narrowing.”

For example, staff are recommending that the speed limit along Keele Street between Steeles and Finch avenues be reduced from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.

On some other arteries, parking spaces will also be removed to help accommodate the lanes.

The Kingston Road project calls for the removal of 62 pay-and-display spaces along the roadway. Staff say that the removal of those spaces will cost the Toronto Parking Authority $23,800 in lost revenue annually.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was asked about the proposal during a media availability on Monday and said that it is not something that he sees as against the spirit of the provincial bike lane legislation.

“I think what we want to see is the vehicle lanes remain. We’ve seen gridlock at an all-time high here in the city but for us, if the vehicle lane is still there, that is in compliance with the legislation,” he said. “If there is a way in which you can have both a vehicle lane and a bike lane on the same street then that is OK.”