As much as residents may hope that Premier Doug Ford's more preposterous suggestions for Ontario never go beyond just talk, more and more of them have been coming to fruition, from the razing of Ontario Place for a private spa to the needless relocation of the Science Centre to, now, the removal of swaths of bike lanes in Toronto.

Following the September revelation that the provincial government was looking into making sweeping changes to cycling infrastructure — infrastructure that has been strategized, built and handled at the municipal level — leaders have this week posted further details of what's to come as part of Bill 212: Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 - Framework for bike lanes that require removal of a traffic lane.

Originally shared online on October 21, the draft legislation pushing for greater provincial oversight of bike lanes on major streets was updated on Halloween day to specifically call out the cycling paths on Bloor, Yonge and University Ave. in downtown T.O.

Chunks of these lanes, some of them only just installed after months of messy construction, will apparently be eliminated if the bill is passed.

They've ripped through our health system. They have ripped through the greenbelt. Now they are ripping through municipalities to remove bike lanes. Doug the Ripper. Happy Halloween. https://t.co/MrV4JHjlXi

— Rob Deutschmann (@robdeutschmann) October 31, 2024

"The Ontario government is proposing an addendum to the framework that would require the province to remove sections of the Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue bike lanes in the City of Toronto and return them to a lane of traffic for motor vehicles," Thursday's update reads.

"The legislation would also provide the province with the authority to establish a review process on other existing bike lanes where the removal of a lane of traffic took place. The review of municipal submissions would lead to the decision of whether to maintain existing bike lanes or to require their removal and return lanes to motor vehicle traffic."

Though Ford's obsession with seeming non-issues in the face of greater problems and his strong-arming against public resistence is not at all surprising at this point, people are still a bit shocked.

Beyond those who cycle and use these lanes regularly during the warmer months, there are those who are simply baffled that Ford is being permitted to meddle so deeply in City business.

It is especially exasperating when there are so many other demands that the people of Ontario have in regards to our floundering healthcare and school systems, housing landscape, cost of living situation, opioid and homelessness crises, and more. 

Much like getting alcohol into convenience stores, this feels like the wrong thing for our premier to focus on, a superfluous distraction from far larger, more pressing problems that greater impact the livelihoods of constituents.

As one MPP wrote in response to the news on X, "This is Doug Ford's priority while so many of our neighbours cannot afford their rent, their healthcare, their groceries, their bills, etc. Shameful."

There are no "secondary streets" for Yonge St.
Mt. Pleasant and Avenue Rd. are the only other North/South roads.
Doug Ford simply wants bike lanes gone, despite the actual data, and study after study, showing the economic, health, environmental, and safety benefits of bike lanes. https://t.co/Vp3IOMh6oo pic.twitter.com/zyXToB3xg8

— Chris Kemp (@mindoverdata) November 1, 2024

Many others are also taking to social media to reiterate the safety, environmental and other benefits of bike lanes, the dramatic uptick in cycling in the city over recent years, and the highly developed bike infrastructure that defines other modern metropolises.

There have also been countless challenges of Ford's claims that adding cycle tracks at the expense of mixed-traffic lanes is the key culprit of worsening gridlock, including a Beck Taxi executive who told blogTO last month.

"[Bike lanes] are just common sense – it's safer when everyone knows where everyone else is and/or should be," she said.

This will go down as the most egregious & backwards looking political move by an Ontario govt in many decades. Cities large and small in 🇨🇦 & 🇺🇸 are embracing bike lanes, to great success.
Look around Doug Ford; get yr head out of yr ass. https://t.co/N7vkOuIVM1

— Ray Straatsma (@RStraatsma) November 1, 2024

Lawyer and outspoken cycling activist Dave Shellnutt believes Ford's motives for this decision may lie in "dividing road users and hitting alking points that they know play with suburban voters... it's easier to rile those folks up about a hot topic than address the crippling congestion those same voters face on the 401," as he wrote in a post on the topic in mid-October.

"Ontarians must see these bike lane attacks for what they are: A tool to distract us from the real problems pressing this province. Most will recognize that it is the sheer number of cars on the roads, and maybe the baffling number of construction projects, that are actually creating gridlock. There are no studies to show bike lanes cause traffic. There are studies that show they keep people safe, and alive."

Hey @fordnation! It's NOT the bikes, STUPID!!! #StayInYourLane #FordFailedOntario #FordMustBeDefeated #onpoli https://t.co/qUV1vH8RLy

— ruthko 🌻 💉9x 😷🖖 (@ruthmkb) November 1, 2024

Some people, though, are indeed celebrating the prospect of the new bill, with many having taken the City to task about new bike lanes over the years saying they negatively impact local businesses, traffic, parking, even road safety, and are not used nearly enough to warrant so much expansion (especially in winter).

There have been a number of petitions for the removal of bike tracks on the Danforth, around Roncesvalles, and also along the streets Ford has now targeted, with groups like Keep Toronto Moving writing that they are "delighted" with Ford's new plans.

"Congestion and gridlock has increased significantly and these bike lanes are empty — the gig's up for the City's misguided transportation department," the group said in an email blast Friday. It adds that its members are "not opposed to bike lanes on our city streets," but believe "it has to be done smartly and in the right practical places," a fair point.

I agree that most of the pampered leftie elite live and work downtown and cycle between home and work

I live in Little Italy and most people here work in the suburbs and have to drive to work. And the bike lanes really mess that up.

The ordinary people need cars

— Lightning Joe (@rainbowjoe6) November 1, 2024

Regardless of your feelings about bike paths, they are a way to keep more vulnerable road users safe and, as Shellnutt says, "there can be no reasonable, factual, or statistical justification for impeding the provision of safe infrastructure."

Also, it is hard to contend how absurd it is for the Province to not only intervene in what has historically been a City matter (and a fairly negligible one in the grand scheme of things), but to spend so much additional public money ripping out brand-new infrastructure that already costed us tens of millions, undermining the City and its decision-making.

Ontario: bike lanes, Ontario Place, booze in corner stores, gas tax, $200 bribes... they're distractions to avoid the things Doug Ford has no answer for:

• Healthcare
• Education
• Housing

Stay focused. Stay vigilant.

Ontario press/QP press gallery, do your damn jobs.

— David Brown (@OrbitStudios) November 1, 2024

"Rather than address the real causes of congestion, long ER wait times, nursing shortages and shady deals at Ontario Place, the premier is trying to distract the people of Ontario at the expense of vulnerable road users. This will result in many more injured people and huge costs for the people of Ontario," Shellnutt tells blogTO.

"Evidence demonstrates that bike lanes reduce conflict and collisions between road users, keep pedestrians, cyclists and even motorists safe. They reduce reliance on motor vehicles thereby decreasing traffic, and boost local businesses. What attacking bike lanes does not do is address the real causes of congestion."