Ontario aware bike lane removals may not reduce congestion, could make people less safe: internal documents

Lane Harrison · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 2:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Ontario's premier and proscription curate person said for months that removing motorcycle lanes is simply a indispensable measurement to trim postulation successful the GTA. But hundreds of pages of interior ministry documents, reports and emails show the authorities is alert the determination whitethorn not person a meaningful impact connected congestion and could summation collisions for everyone who uses roads.

The heavily-redacted documents were made nationalist arsenic portion of a tribunal situation to the authorities — Bill 212 would spot motorcycle lanes connected Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue removed — mounted by a radical of cyclists successful Toronto.

The documents were utilized successful an statement for an injunction Tuesday to forestall immoderate motorcycle lane removal enactment until the tribunal situation is heard successful afloat successful April. 

The documents see a presumption connected a legislative program for a "pro-driver package" and emails betwixt Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) unit that formed uncertainty connected the quality to execute bikes lanes connected secondary streets arsenic the curate publically promised. There is besides a study prepared by the engineering and municipality readying steadfast CIMA+ for MTO that says collisions for each roadworthy users could summation by upwards of 54 per cent erstwhile motorcycle lanes are removed, based connected anterior research. 

"There is simply a mean hazard that the projected alteration volition not execute the desired outcomes," reads a 2024 furniture bureau committee briefing note.

"Given that existent information and probe does not corroborate that removing motorcycle lanes that inhabit a lane of postulation would importantly alleviate congestion." 

WATCH | The latest connected the ineligible conflict to forestall Ontario from removing Toronto motorcycle lanes: 

An October briefing that asks what sections of the Bloor, Yonge and University lanes should beryllium removed notes that the MTO did not ain the "data required to enactment a determination to region a motorcycle lane." 

The cyclists mounting the tribunal situation accidental the documents uncover that MTO has privately been alert of what galore critics person been saying astir the legislation: that it won't lick Toronto's postulation issues, volition marque radical unsafe, and determination is nary readily disposable web of secondary roads to regenerate the targeted routes.

Province calls engineering study high-level

At the injunction proceeding Tuesday, the lawyer for the state said Ontario volition person tons of documents and grounds to reason its rationale erstwhile the tribunal situation is heard successful afloat successful April. On the CIMA+ study specifically, which outlines an accrued collision risk, Padraic Ryan argued the study was a high-level commentary with nary archetypal analysis. 

The CIMA+ enactment for the state is breached down into 2 phases, per the documents. The archetypal phase, which is wherever the 54 per cent summation successful collisions fig comes from, was a reappraisal of applicable probe and lawsuit studies. A 2nd signifier of research, with site-specific information analysis, is not included successful the precocious released batch of documents.

The study says based connected erstwhile research, motorcycle infrastructure tin trim collisions betwixt 35 per cent to 50 per cent. It notes the summation successful collisions could beryllium reduced if little radical motorcycle connected the roads wherever the motorcycle lanes are removed, but cyclists whitethorn commencement riding connected sidewalks alternatively — expanding hazard for pedestrians. 

MTO unit formed uncertainty connected replacing routes with secondary roads

"I privation to marque definite that the bikers are safe," Premier Doug Ford said successful November. "I person ever believed that you don't enactment [bike lanes] connected main arterial roads, you enactment them connected secondary roads."

Ford and Prabmeet Sarkaria, his proscription minister, person repeatedly promised that ripped retired motorcycle lanes would beryllium replaced by motorcycle lanes connected parallel streets to springiness cyclists different option. A solution that has been criticized by cyclists who accidental routes can't beryllium replaced on smaller roads without making someone's travel importantly longer and little direct.

An contented MTO unit look to beryllium alert of. In an email speech successful mid-December, a MTO staffer says cyclists are delicate to changes successful travel magnitude and volition often take the shortest route, which successful a large metropolis is often a large roadway. 

WATCH | Do lone 1.2%of Torontonians truly commute by bike? StatsCan information says no: 

"While I recognize that determination is messaging astir the secondary roads, the grade to which that could beryllium achieved and utilized successful Toronto for illustration is an unknown/unlikely," wrote the MTO unit member.

The study from CIMA+ echoes this concern, saying cyclists volition apt proceed utilizing the astir nonstop routes. It besides says immoderate large motorcycle routes successful Toronto person barriers similar hills, ravines, bridges and obstruction lines that marque a nonstop alternate way difficult. 

It says determination are a constricted fig of north-south streets that marque consciousness for cycling infrastructure "without impacting existing conveyance lanes" connected large roads. 

Small businesses whitethorn endure on routes

In a quality merchandise issued successful January astir the plans, an Etobicoke concern owner among a radical suing the metropolis for installing motorcycle lanes successful the neighbourhood said the lanes are "hurting section businesses."

Ford has said congestion costs the province's system billions of dollars, arsenic goods and services are stuck successful postulation "because they person 1 lane of postulation successful the astir congested metropolis successful North America." 

But ministry documents accidental the removal of motorcycle lanes could beryllium the happening to origin hurt. 

"Evidence shows that motorcycle lanes person a affirmative economical interaction connected section retail businesses," reads a briefing from August.