Ontario Premier Ford’s New Plan Will Result in Cyclists Dying, But Does He Care?

Cyclists in Toronto could soon see more bike lanes removed, and on stretches of road that have seen a number of cyclists be killed by drivers. The moves Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants to make could be the most misguided and dangerously ignorant in recent memory.

According to an article in The Star, Ford’s upcoming budget will include plans to tear out bike lanes on Queen’s Park Crescent and Avenue Road, adding to those already targeted on University Avenue, Yonge Street, and Bloor Street West.

These changes come as the Ford government continues to push bike lanes off major roads, claiming it will ease traffic congestion, which of course it will not. A court order, requested by cycling advocates, has temporarily stopped the removal of bike lanes on University, Yonge, and Bloor while a judge decides if the move violates Charter rights to life and personal security.

Ford has said he isn’t against bike lanes, though he clearly is, but believes they don’t belong on main roads. He’s suggested side streets as an alternative — which no cyclists will ever take because like all traffic, cyclists take the most direct route and to think otherwise is stupidity — despite criticism from cycling groups who argue that removing safe, direct routes puts riders at risk and won’t fix traffic.

Toronto bike lane protest

A cyclist was struck and killed by a driver in 2024 along Avenue Road, another around the corner on Bloor. More will die if Ford’s proposals move forward. Their blood will be on the hands of the Ontario leader and his brutally short-sighted policy.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy will present the new budget May 15 at 4 p.m. Government sources say it will reinforce the province’s goal of moving bike infrastructure off major arteries.

Mayor Olivia Chow, a longtime supporter of cycling, has called for a compromise that protects key routes while addressing car traffic. She’s firm on keeping the Bloor Street West bike lanes, backed by local businesses and residents.

Cycle Toronto and other advocates say the planned removals are arbitrary and dangerous. Their Charter challenge is ongoing, and the court injunction has paused the removals for now.

Removing all 22 km of targeted bike lanes could cost the city $48 million — nearly double what it cost to build them. The province has tried to shield itself legally in case someone is hurt or killed after lanes are taken out.

The fight over Toronto’s bike lanes is far from over — and for now, the battle is playing out both in court and in Queen’s Park.