Ontario proposal restricting bike lanes draws province-wide backlash

Ontario cycling advocacy groups are set to rally as part of a province-wide protest against Ontario’s latest omnibus legislation, Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025. Critics say the bill, fast-tracked without committee hearings, threatens municipal authority and public safety by restricting new bike lanes that require road reconfigurations.

The ongoing debacle

This is the fourth time in just over a year that Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria has amended the Highway Traffic Act with measures aimed at bike lanes. It began with Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024. Advocates warn that Bill 60 escalates an attack on evidence-based transportation planning.

Despite cyclists winning Charter challenge, Ontario government moves ahead with bike lane compromise

Toronto groups including Friends and Families for Safe Streets and Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC) will ride to Queen’s Park to demand accountability from the provincial government. Protesters will gather at 8 a.m. at Matt Cohen Park at Bloor and Spadina.

Similar actions are planned across Ontario. Bike Ottawa will hold a rally at city hall, while the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation will assemble outside MPP Mike Schreiner’s constituency office.

The Charter challenge

Internal government documents cited in court during a legal challenge to Bill 212 showed that provincial experts had warned removing bike lanes would not reduce congestion and could endanger lives. In July, Cycle Toronto and co-applicants successfully blocked the removal of  19 km of protected bike lanes in Toronto.

Dave Shellnutt, partner at Biking Lawyer LLP, said Bill 60 “floods the zone” with intersecting measures that divide communities. “Minister Sarkaria and Premier Ford are again overstepping their mandate,” he said.

Michael Longfield, Cycle Toronto executive director, said:

“The province’s own experts know that bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion. And in court they failed to put forward any evidence justifying their claims. This is a government whose obsession with bike lanes is wasting tax dollars and doubling down on a bad-faith culture war that will only make congestion worse while putting people’s lives at risk.”