Proof that bike lanes can actually help emergency responders

One of the frequently quoted claims by those opposing bike lanes is that emergency responders won’t be able to respond as quickly, despite it being debunked by many. One user on X posted a video of just how helpful the lanes are when there is traffic.

Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative government have successfully passed legislation requiring municipalities to obtain provincial approval before installing bike lanes that remove vehicle traffic lanes. With Bill 212 now law, the province also has the authority to remove bike lanes on Toronto’s Bloor, Yonge, and University avenues, converting them back to vehicle traffic—a move strongly opposed by cycling advocates.

Debunking false claims

Ford has on several occasions suggested the bike network was hindering emergency services from navigating downtown quickly. This is a claim debunked by several cycling advocates. “It’s an absolute disaster. It’s a nightmare,” Ford said.

The staggering cost and challenges of removing bike lanes

In 2021 and 2022, Paris firefighters achieved record-breaking response times, marking the highest efficiency in a decade. Despite a six-second increase in average intervention time reported by the Paris fire brigade (BSPP) in February, response times have significantly improved since 2015, particularly in the past two years. The reason? Bike lanes, according to Le Parisien.

Bike lanes help traffic flow

While BSPP has not officially commented on the over-minute time savings, experts suggest the growing network of bike lanes has eased rescue traffic.

“When we build 2.5-metre bicycle lanes, it facilitates vehicle movement. These BSPP figures confirm that cycle lanes can create free-flowing routes for firefighters, ambulances, and police,” David Belliard, Paris’s deputy mayor for public spaces and transport, said. “Our improvements aim to enhance emergency traffic flow.”

With more residents biking instead of driving, gridlock has eased. “There’s less and less traffic in Paris,” noted a city emergency doctor.

In the video posted by Observing The City, you can see the ambulance speeding down the bike lanes as cars are stuck in gridlock.

This video is for @fordnation, @PrabSarkaria and all others saying bike lanes “stop emerg. vehicles from getting to their destination”. They *allow* emergency vehicles to get to their destination, as seen here on Adelaide. They were designed with emergency services in mind.