According to sources talking to the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau, the Ford government will introduce legislation blocking the construction of new bike lanes if they result in the loss of other lanes to cars, trucks and other traffic.
No surprise there, really. Ford, like his brother Rob before him, has long made bashing bike lanes a defining political principle.
Aside from their negligible impact on car travel times, bike lanes get more people onto bikes by providing them a faster, safer option. That makes the lives of those cyclists better, and also means there are fewer cars on the road.
If Ford is actually concerned with moving cars better, he could accomplish that goal much more effectively by leaving bike lanes alone and joining Toronto’s fight to prevent blocking intersections through automatic camera enforcement power, and sharing more dollars for traffic wardens.
Opinion | Forget the bike lanes. If Ford wants to move traffic, he should invest in tactics that work – Toronto Star, September 20, 2024
Photo: City of Toronto, via CC by 2.0
