Municipalities having no constitutional powers was a mistake. Provinces keep taking away powers and funding from our cities and it can’t end well.
mukmuk64 on
Completely insane.
A bizarre ideologically driven move that will make traffic even worse.
If cyclists don’t feel safe their only option is to drive, adding even more cars onto the road.
GavinTheAlmighty on
I am once again reminding everyone that if it isn’t safe for me to bike, I am going to be yet another person in a car on the same roads you travel on. Also I love speed limits and coming to a complete stop at stop signs.
ChimoEngr on
> Under the looming legislation, the ultimate decision on whether a lane of traffic can be removed for a bike lane will fall to the minister, not to bureaucrats within the ministry, Sarkaria said.
Which is another way of saying that no bike lanes will be approved. That’s total bullshit.
Before getting into my rant, I want to preface this by saying that I am well aware that this is well within provincial authority, and that there are few to no ways to reverse this outside of changing who’s running the provincial government.
Bike lanes are an excellent way to increase traffic flow. Bikes take up less space on the road per person, and when done properly, and maintained, they are usable year round to the same degree car lanes are. They also keep people healthier than if they drive, and make it easier to stop in at the stores you pass by. Governments should be doing everything they can, to encourage people to get out of their cars, and onto bikes.
Everyone saying “but winter” needs to understand that there is no bad weather, there is only bad gear. Spiked tires deal with icy conditions, bar mitts keep your hands warm and able to use your brake and gear levers at minus stupid, and layering takes care of everything else. A lack of showers at your workplace or not enough time in the day to cycle, are the only reasons I will consider for cycling not being an option, everything else is just an excuse to be weak.
devinejoh on
I urge every cyclists to assert your right by taking the full car lane.
Why is the rest of the province ok with this? This is clearly pointed at Toronto, specifically Bloor st. in Etobicoke.
Tomlinsoi on
Doug Ford finding “efficiencies” to save us money cutting budgets and red tape by… Creating a new province wide application process for every single municipality, and making it apply 5 years retroactively? Surely this will be efficient and not end up costing needless millions (billions?) in wait times and fees.
/s
I’m not seeing a mention of sizes in the article either. Are tiny little municipalities of 800 people going to have to get approval from Queens Park to add a single bike lane to an existing road now? There’s no way that this could be efficient or cheap.
This man really wants to be mayor of Toronto and is dragging every single municipality in Ontario down in his retribution against them.
DesharnaisTabarnak on
I guarantee you a lot of people are happy that the OPCs are reserving the right to turf any bike lane project on a whim, while simultaneously fantasizing about running over bikers slowing down their lane and complaining about too many cars on the road.
It’s already hard enough for cities to get past their own bureaucracy to get anything done for bike infrastructure, insane that obstacles keep getting added.
MidnightTokr on
This policy is going to get people killed. It’s about time we start treating Conservatives like the murderers they are.
nerfgazara on
Ford should probably run this by his “Minister of Red Tape Reduction” since this seems like the kind of thing they ought to take issue with if they existed for any reason other than increasing profits for his developer friends.
zxc999 on
If the province wants to continue interfering in municipal road policy, they need to upload traffic enforcement to the province in a new provincial agency the way BC is proposing. Free up a large chunk of (clearly unused) money from the policing budget and let them shoulder the burden for alternative mobility options and risk to cyclists.
10 Comments
Municipalities having no constitutional powers was a mistake. Provinces keep taking away powers and funding from our cities and it can’t end well.
Completely insane.
A bizarre ideologically driven move that will make traffic even worse.
If cyclists don’t feel safe their only option is to drive, adding even more cars onto the road.
I am once again reminding everyone that if it isn’t safe for me to bike, I am going to be yet another person in a car on the same roads you travel on. Also I love speed limits and coming to a complete stop at stop signs.
> Under the looming legislation, the ultimate decision on whether a lane of traffic can be removed for a bike lane will fall to the minister, not to bureaucrats within the ministry, Sarkaria said.
Which is another way of saying that no bike lanes will be approved. That’s total bullshit.
Before getting into my rant, I want to preface this by saying that I am well aware that this is well within provincial authority, and that there are few to no ways to reverse this outside of changing who’s running the provincial government.
Bike lanes are an excellent way to increase traffic flow. Bikes take up less space on the road per person, and when done properly, and maintained, they are usable year round to the same degree car lanes are. They also keep people healthier than if they drive, and make it easier to stop in at the stores you pass by. Governments should be doing everything they can, to encourage people to get out of their cars, and onto bikes.
Everyone saying “but winter” needs to understand that there is no bad weather, there is only bad gear. Spiked tires deal with icy conditions, bar mitts keep your hands warm and able to use your brake and gear levers at minus stupid, and layering takes care of everything else. A lack of showers at your workplace or not enough time in the day to cycle, are the only reasons I will consider for cycling not being an option, everything else is just an excuse to be weak.
I urge every cyclists to assert your right by taking the full car lane.
Why is the rest of the province ok with this? This is clearly pointed at Toronto, specifically Bloor st. in Etobicoke.
Doug Ford finding “efficiencies” to save us money cutting budgets and red tape by… Creating a new province wide application process for every single municipality, and making it apply 5 years retroactively? Surely this will be efficient and not end up costing needless millions (billions?) in wait times and fees.
/s
I’m not seeing a mention of sizes in the article either. Are tiny little municipalities of 800 people going to have to get approval from Queens Park to add a single bike lane to an existing road now? There’s no way that this could be efficient or cheap.
This man really wants to be mayor of Toronto and is dragging every single municipality in Ontario down in his retribution against them.
I guarantee you a lot of people are happy that the OPCs are reserving the right to turf any bike lane project on a whim, while simultaneously fantasizing about running over bikers slowing down their lane and complaining about too many cars on the road.
It’s already hard enough for cities to get past their own bureaucracy to get anything done for bike infrastructure, insane that obstacles keep getting added.
This policy is going to get people killed. It’s about time we start treating Conservatives like the murderers they are.
Ford should probably run this by his “Minister of Red Tape Reduction” since this seems like the kind of thing they ought to take issue with if they existed for any reason other than increasing profits for his developer friends.
If the province wants to continue interfering in municipal road policy, they need to upload traffic enforcement to the province in a new provincial agency the way BC is proposing. Free up a large chunk of (clearly unused) money from the policing budget and let them shoulder the burden for alternative mobility options and risk to cyclists.