Ontario Premier Doug Ford made it abundantly clear last month that his PC government will reduce gridlock on provincial roads and highways. One of the main priorities was to remove bike lanes on busy roads and intersections to improve traffic flow, and require municipalities to receive provincial approval before installing new ones.
Hence, it wasn’t surprising that Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s “Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024,” or Bill 212, passed third reading on Monday. By an overwhelming vote of 66-27, the PC majority government turned the bill into law in Ontario.
This didn’t stop Ontario’s left-leaning parties, the newly-minted provincial bike crusaders, from crying little pedal-shaped tears to anyone who would listen.
“We have a premier who is so focused on his vanity projects and fighting battles that he lost on Toronto city council, instead of actually focusing on the priorities of Ontarians,” NDP leader Marit Stiles told the Toronto Star’s Robert Benzie. Liberal MPP John Fraser followed a similar (bike) path, suggesting it was a government “distraction” instead of focusing on things that matter like the “2.5 million Ontarians who don’t have family doctor or hallway health care.” Green Party leader Mike Schreiner said it was “ridiculous that people in Bracebridge, Sudbury, North Bay are paying to remove bike lanes in Toronto that’s actually going to make traffic worse and put people’s lives at risk.”
All of this was political grandstanding. That’s the nature of politics, of course.
Stiles and Fraser know full well that Ford’s decision to deal with bike lanes doesn’t take away from his focus on other issues, policies and priorities that affect Ontario. He has a full cabinet of ministers who manage difficult files related to health care, education, transportation, economic development, municipal affairs and more. Bill 212 was but one small spoke in the entire government wheel.
Meanwhile, Stiles tried to deflect further attention by focusing on another part of this bill. That is, the Ontario government’s decision to indemnify itself against potential lawsuits that could be directly or indirectly related to bike lane removal. “The fact that the government decided to pass a law to protect themselves from lawsuits tells you everything you need to know about this government,” she said. “They’re more worried about protecting their own behinds than they are about protecting the lives of road users.”
The NDP leader is an old sparring partner from radio and TV political panels. Always got along with her. So, I think I can be a little more personal in my response.
Guess what, Marit? You would have done the same damn thing. So would any other modern political leader of the left and right, for that matter. We live in a litigious society. People sue for everything under the sun and then some. They start high, often settle for a much lower amount — and if they can squeeze money out of the public till, they’ll take it. Bike riders are no different in this regard. That’s why today’s governments and leaders need to protect “their own behinds,” to use your words. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no way around it.
As it happens, Schreiner was also an occasional sparring partner on the punditry circuit. He knows what I think of his unnatural obsession with the environment, so I’ll leave that be. It’s similar to his comment that removing bike lanes would make traffic “worse” (far from it) and “put people’s lives at risk” (not if they follow the rules of the road).
The Green leader did bring up the fact that Ontario residents living outside of Toronto will be paying for the removal of bike lanes on three major Toronto roads — University Avenue, Yonge Street and Bloor Street. That’s worth exploring.
The provincial government, through taxpayer dollars, will be funding the entire removal of these bike lanes. It won’t be as costly as Schreiner and others have suggested. The original tab was $27 million. Toronto city officials have estimated it would cost $48 million to dismantle everything. Ford said it was “hogwash” and believes the cost will be far lower. My guess is the Premier is right. We’ll find out one day.
Meanwhile, last I checked, people living in Toronto pay for plenty of economic programs and social services in rural and northern Ontario communities. What’s the direct benefit to them, exactly? Not much, but it’s part of the day-to-day cost of running a government. Plus, if Torontonians happen to be in these communities and need to use one of these services, they can. Much the same way that “people in Bracebridge, Sudbury, North Bay” and elsewhere, to use Schreiner’s words, will be able to use these Toronto roads and not get stuck in the massive amounts of daily gridlock most drivers currently face.
Look at what just happened to the Utah Hockey Club. The NHL team had to walk to Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 24 to play the Toronto Maple Leafs because their bus was “not moving at all.” There were various reasons behind this, including road closures due to the Santa Claus Day Parade. But if you actually think dedicated bike lanes in the downtown core also didn’t play a significant role in slowing down the overall flow of traffic that busy evening, then you’re kidding yourselves.
Ford called this situation “embarrassing.” He’s right, and his bike-lovin’ opponents are embarrassing themselves at the same time.
National Post