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The Ontario government recently proposed legislation that would enable the Province to weigh in on transportation projects involving bike lanes where car facilities are removed. This legislation is problematic from many important standpoints—not least of all because it won’t benefit anyone, not even drivers. Read on to learn why it’s so misguided and what you can do about it.
The Laurier Bikeway in downtown Ottawa during a November rush hour.
The ecological argument
We need to encourage biking however we can. Biking produces essentially no emissions, and the resources bikes use are minimal. Indeed, biking is ridiculously efficient. Bikes also take relatively little space, which means less pavement—and pavement essentially seals land off from any ecological use.
The mobility argument
More people biking means more people getting around. Estimates vary, but biking moves people anywhere from 5 to 12 times more efficiently than driving. (Dedicated bus lanes are similarly efficient, and walking is even more efficient.) If our goal is using road space efficiently—which is key in a city—we must encourage transportation modes that move higher volumes.
In fact, all indications are that removing bike lanes will not only fail to ease congestion, but it will add congestion. This relates to the phenomenon of “induced demand”: in brief, when you widen roads, you increase car traffic. So not only will this legislation make getting around more dangerous for people biking, but it will increase travel times for drivers.
The equity argument
Premier Ford’s rhetoric suggests that everyone has access to a car. This obviously isn’t true. The City’s recently published Origin–Destination Survey showed that 14% of Ottawans don’t own a car, including 48% of households in the downtown core. If we look at low-income households in isolation, that number climbs to 53%. This is understandable: the average annual cost of car ownership in Canada is $16,644. There are also gender dimensions: research shows that men are more likely to drive than women—as in true in Ottawa, as the O-G Survey also showed. So this legislation is inequitable too.
The health argument
Bike lanes save lives. Facilities with physical protection—like those Ford is threatening to remove—offer cyclists the greatest protection. But interestingly, bike lanes also benefit other road users, including drivers. Thus, this legislation will make our roads more dangerous for everyone.
The economic argument
Bike lanes are good for business. A well-known study by The Centre for Active Transportation of Bloor Street in Toronto—a section that Premier Ford wants to remove—shows that when car parking was replaced by bike lanes, “monthly customer spending and number of customers served by merchants both increased.” This is why the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Association has opposed Ford’s legislation.
And then there’s the wastefulness of the removal of the lanes, which no doubt will be replaced when a more thoughtful and evidence-based government takes power and this legislation is repealed. Wasteful transportation spending is of course a pattern for Ford, who is advancing a $6–$10 billion highway that will have little to no beneficial effect and recently expressed his desire to build a tunnel under Highway 401.
This legislation is overreach. Conventionally, municipalities make their own transportation decisions. This makes sense, since they know their transportation patterns and needs best. The Province is technically allowed to exercise this overreach because in Canada, municipalities are “creatures of the provinces” in which they’re found. But should they exercise this overreach? Clearly not. (Image: The O'Connor Bikeway in downtown Ottawa during a November rush hour.)
Ottawa’s commitments
Ottawa’s Official Plan commits to a major shift in transportation, such that by 2046, over half of all trips are by sustainable transportation modes—that is, walking, biking, public transit, and so on. For that to occur, we need to make it safer and more convenient for people to bike. Ford’s legislation obviously does precisely the opposite of this. Ironically, Ford’s government approved our Official Plan. Why is he making the Plan harder to implement?
In conclusion
Take your pick of argument: Ford’s proposed legislation is indefensible and should be opposed in every way. Fortunately, there’s still time to oppose this legislation.
What can you do?
There are several ways you can take action:
- Sign our petition calling on Ottawa City Council to tell Ford to retract the legislation
- Join this rally on Tuesday, November 5 at the Château Laurier, where Premier Ford will be speaking
- Submit feedback on this legislation through the Province’s form; we’ve included suggested language below
- Sign one of the other petitions or letters on this issue circulating—those from Horizon Ottawa, Leadnow, Cycle Toronto, MPP Joel Harden's office, Councillor Ariel Troster's office, and others. (If we’ve missed one, please let us know!)
- Contact your councillor and Mayor Sutcliffe to ask them to oppose this legislation and protect Ottawa road users
- Send us a donation to support our work promoting sustainable transportation
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Suggested points for feedback to Premier Ford
Here are some points you can include in feedback to the Province (feedback form here).
- Removing bike lanes will endanger my life and those of my loved ones
- Research has repeatedly shown that widening roads makes congestion worse
- We need to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, and encouraging people to bike is an important part of this reduction
- Removing bike lanes is a waste of taxpayers money, and businesses will also suffer from reduced traffic
- Ontarians need more options to get around, not fewer
- The Province shouldn’t meddle in decisions best made by municipalities
