TORONTO — The Ontario government is making life easier for drivers by introducing legislation that would, if passed, require municipalities to receive approval from the province before installing new bike lanes that would result in the removal of lanes for traffic. Municipalities would be required to demonstrate that the proposed bike lanes won’t have a negative impact on vehicle traffic.
“Cities in Ontario have seen an explosion of bike lanes, including many that were installed during the pandemic when fewer vehicles were on the road and their impacts on traffic were unclear,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “Too many drivers are now stuck in gridlock as a result, which is why our government is bringing informed decision-making and oversight to bike lanes as well as taking steps to increase speed limits safely and clean up potholes.”
These proposed changes are part of upcoming legislation that will kick off the fall sitting of the Ontario legislature on October 21, 2024, with a focus on tackling gridlock and getting drivers and commuters across Ontario out of traffic.
Ontario is also moving forward with plans to make life more convenient for drivers by increasing the speed limit to 110 km/h, where it is safe to do so, on all 400-series highways. This builds on the safe and successful increase of speed limits on more than one-third of provincial 400-series highways to date. The government is also developing a design standard to allow vehicles to travel safely at speeds higher than 120 km/h on new highways.
In addition, to help make Ontario roads safer and prevent accidents and damages that can occur from potholes, the government is consulting with municipalities to develop a potholes prevention and repair fund to open in the 2025 construction season. The program would support smaller municipalities with road maintenance and set standards to help improve road conditions and promote high-quality roadwork across the province.
The government is also proposing to enshrine in the legislation the current freeze on knowledge and road test fees so that any future increases would require a legislative amendment. The freeze on fee increases, which was scheduled to rise roughly 4.5 per cent a year, will help save Ontarians $72 million this decade.