Never the twain shall meet? The GCN Show on YouTube has been known to discuss all sorts of topics in cycling, but I bet talking about Ontario Premier Doug Ford wasn’t on your bingo card today.
The episode lists the following topics for discussion:
“Is cycling getting too fast? After the Tour de France director raised this concern, we’re diving into the debate. Could the extreme speeds during races be causing the terrible crashes we’ve seen this year? Is this really the problem, and what can be done to make racing safer? Plus, we’re sharing bad news from Canada, introducing a new King KOM, and exploring how bike lanes are making roads safer for everyone.”
Canadian content galore
In terms of CanCon, we get a double whammy. The show highlights Jack Burke, who is shattering Strava KOMs held by pros like Vincenzo Nibali and Sepp Kuss, both Grand Tour winners.
The Ontario government recently passed controversial Bill 212, officially known as the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, which requires provincial approval for new bike lanes on municipal roads that involve removing vehicle traffic lanes. It also mandates the removal of bike lanes along Bloor St., Yonge St., and University Ave. in Toronto, converting these lanes back to vehicle traffic.
Famous for all the wrong reasons
GCN isn’t the first international outlet to get in on the bike lanes kerfuffle happening in Ontario.
In an article from The Guardian, entitled “Bikes v cars: backlash after Ontario premier threatens to tear up cycling lanes in Toronto,” the author Leyland Cecco sums up the fiasco that has been going on for months. Cecco, who is based in Toronto and covers Canada for The Guardian, describes what Ford calls “insanity”: bike lanes.
And then there’s the NHL game gone viral
In true Canadian fashion, bike lanes and our beloved sport of hockey also became inextricably intertwined. Ford was quick to make the viral video about bike lanes. “When Toronto traffic is so bad that NHL teams have to walk to their games, we’ve got a serious problem. So, that’s why it’s so important that we deliver on our plan to fight gridlock by bringing sanity back to bike lane decisions, building highways and public transit, and speeding up construction on the Gardiner,” he posted on X.
Bill 212, which was fast-tracked, passed its third reading by a vote of 66-27.
If you want to give it a watch, check it out below. The Ontario bike lanes segment starts at 12:12
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…