Doug Ford’s beef with bike lanes has Torontonians, GTA city-dwellers livid: ‘A profoundly stupid idea’

Doug Ford’s war on city cyclists is heating up.

The premier’s office has been vocal over the past couple weeks in its desire to rid major Ontario cities of bike lanes in an effort to ease traffic congestion, specifically in Toronto. It’s a plan the Progressive Conservative government appears to be going all-in on, despite a lack of evidence that cutting and removing bike lanes will actually ease traffic, safety concerns for cyclists, and a maligned transit system in desperate need of an upgrade.

Ford last week promised to get rid of some bike lanes in major cities across the province, with the government specifically referencing Toronto — a major cyclist city — several times when laying out his plan.

“Not everybody can use a bike to get around,” Ontario transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said on Monday. “These are some of our major arterial roads, whether it be Bloor or University or Yonge Street. People need to get to and from work. We need to make this city a better place, an easier place to get around.”

Ford, in a speech last Thursday, went off: “It isn’t enough to keep an eye on future bike lanes … We need to and will remove and replace existing bike lanes on primary roads that are bringing traffic in our cities to an absolute standstill.”

The Ford government took it one step further during legislature on Monday, saying it will review all newly installed bike lanes going back five years and offering to pay — with taxpayer dollars, of course — for the removal of an existing bike lanes they feel in a hinderance to vehicle traffic flow.

Over the past few years, Ford has vehemently complained about bike lanes on Bloor Street West — about a 10- to 15-minute drive from his home — creating gridlock for drivers.

“Get rid of those bike lanes on Bloor in Etobicoke. I think we see one bicycle come through there every single year,” Ford said at a press conference in Milton late last year.

This week’s development has people livid. Many flocked to social media to blast Ford for his intention to use public, taxpayer funds for a project that most deem unnecessary at the very least, especially when the money could be used to help with other essentials across the province like healthcare, or social services, or a million other things.

There’s a serious safety element to this, too, as six cyclists had already died on the streets of Toronto this year as of early September. This concern is something former Toronto city planner Jennifer Keesmaat bluntly pointed out on social platform X on Monday.

Others stormed the social platform to express similar sentiments as Keesmaat, while some blasted the province over how it is prioritizing public money.

“Are we supposed to pretend this is about anything other than Ford’s personal commute to downtown Toronto?” wrote another user.

“Can we pay nurses instead or help our homeless?” One commenter wrote, while another post read, “Our health care and education money is going to remove bicycle lanes.”

“Ford is so happy to spend our money on things we don’t want,” one reply read.

One user wrote: “Doug lives to waste money. Which donor has a problem with bike lanes? Wedding guests upset? People are dying and he’s worried about damn bike lanes. Get your priorities right @fordnation.”

“Another @fordnation vanity project that nobody wants and nobody wants their tax dollars to pay for,” wrote another.

“This is a profoundly stupid idea,” penned another.

Citizens aren’t the only ones speaking out over Ford’s intention to meddle in the business of cities, as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow spoke out passionately against the Premier last Thursday, questioning if Ford’s plan would do anything but make the traffic worse across the city..

“I’ll say it again — I do not support limiting city powers. Let’s not go backwards. It’s always better when we work together. Ripping up our roads will make congestion worse,” Chow said on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, the province’s failure to deliver transit projects on time has led to long construction delays and years of road closures that have made it harder to get around our city. The province should be focused on finally opening the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT and fixing the chaos at Metrolinx,” she added.

NDP MPP for Spadina—Fort York, Chris Glover, along with many others, also called out the Ford government for its inability to fix the pathetic transit situation in Toronto specifically.

Meanwhile, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) agreed with Chow, and called Ford’s bike-lane beef a “significant overreach” of his powers.

“Bicycle lanes are an essential element of urban transportation planning and road safety. Requiring provincial approval would be a significant overreach into municipal jurisdiction,” the AMO said in a statement on Tuesday.

Asked about Ford’s latest comments, AMO’s spokesperson said the organization needs to review the actual legislation before commenting further.

During a heated bike lanes town hall meting in Etobicoke last Thursday, Toronto Fire deputy chief Jim Jessop said “emergency response times, based on two key performance indicators, have improved since the bike lanes were installed,” per the Toronto Star, seemingly going against Ford’s theory that the bike lanes have made congestion worse across the city and GTA.

Upon the Ford government teasing its war on municipal bike lanes earlier this month, many with behind-the-scenes knowledge on the issue and concerned citizens alike took to social media to voice their frustration with the premier’s office over the contentious situation.

“Doug you’re a moron … primary roads are where they are needed the most…” one X user wrote.

“No more bus lanes and more GO train and bus services will get Toronto moving forward, not banning bike lanes,” another comment read.

“If you get rid of bike lanes, they will get in cars instead, and you will have EVEN MORE traffic. Absurd that drivers won’t acknowledge this,” wrote one user on X, while another quipped: “Lmao I can’t believe I have to live in a province led by people with such lack of basic world understanding.”

Though the majority of those speaking out think Ford is way out of line with his plan to remove bike lanes, there are plenty of commuters who support the idea, too.

“This needed to happen years ago. It’s too late for London, now. Our roads are filled with empty bike lanes,” read one reply on X.

“Finally, some common sense,” another X user in favour of the tabled legislation wrote.

One X user wrote: “Yes! Absolutely. Start with the chaos that’s been created on Avenue Road!”

“Thank you Premier Ford!!” another comment read.

The government’s proposed bill is becoming a major talking point just as Toronto is proposing a massive expansion of the bike lanes across the city over the next three years, with the city aiming to add another 100 kilometres of cycling infrastructure along some busy streets like Avenue, Dupont, Wellington, and Gerrard By 2027.

This isn’t the first battle Ford has waged against bike lanes. Under the leadership of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, alongside Doug — then a city councillor — the city removed protected bike lanes on Jarvis Street, which reportedly cost taxpayers around $270,000.

Their appears to be little, if any, evidence that removing bike lanes would reduce vehicle congestion on the roads, but Ford’s proposed plan move is widely expected to appeal to the PC party’s suburban voter base, who mostly commute to and from the city in cars.