Removing cycle lanes: a bad idea

Dear Premier Ford,

We, the builders of the National Capital Region, are writing to express our opposition to a provincial law that would make it more difficult to develop safe cycling infrastructure. As developers, architects, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and transportation planners, we believe this decision would be detrimental to the safety, health, and overall well-being of Ontarians. Specifically, we urge you to reconsider the 2024 Road Congestion Relief and Time Savings Act.

Clearly, you care about helping citizens save time when traveling within their cities – it’s even in the title of the law. So do we. However, it is important to understand that prioritizing cars over bicycles will not get people moving faster. It will, however, increase congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and collisions on our roads, ultimately resulting in more deaths. We are not advocating a war on cars; we simply want to provide Ontarians with safe transportation options in their cities.

Here are the reasons why restricting bike lane development would not be good for Ontario.

We need alternative modes of transportation to address densification and keep up with the pace of construction. We are facing a housing crisis, and new residences must be built quickly and at higher densities than in our current cities. Your provincial government, along with federal and municipal governments, has identified intensification as a key strategy to achieve housing goals. Our cities are already congested with car traffic, and adding more cars will not solve the problem. There is no room in our cities to endlessly widen roads; instead, we must rethink how space is currently allocated. Public transit, walking, and yes, cycling must be realistic, safe, and efficient options for getting around our cities.

Developing bike lanes reduces congestion. A safe, two-way bike lane can move 7,500 people per hour, whereas a single car lane can only move 600 to 1,600 people per hour, using more space. This is simply physics: a bike lane moves more people than a car lane. To maintain high usage of bike lanes, we must continue building a connected and safe cycling infrastructure network. As you stated on Political Blind Date: “You get nervous when there are no bike lanes.”

The idea that bike lanes slow down emergency services is also false. The city of Toronto studied how emergency response times changed after installing bike lanes on Bloor Street and found no significant difference compared to the city average. In fact, when properly designed, bike lanes can even speed up emergency vehicle response, as they can use the bike lanes.

Bike lanes support economic growth. They allow more people to access stores, encourage people to stay longer, and make it easier to travel from one shop to another. In Toronto, the installation of bike lanes on Bloor Street was associated with economic growth. A study from the University of Arizona showed that a $600 million investment in complete streets, including cycling infrastructure, was associated with $6 billion in redevelopment investment. To maximize benefits for businesses, bike lanes need to be installed on main streets, where businesses are located and where people want to go.

As Ontario cities densify, protecting cycling infrastructure is a key element of the future. It reduces car dependency, eases traffic, lowers the cost of living, and contributes to greener, more affordable cities for everyone. Ontario has the opportunity to be a leader in sustainable transportation by supporting, rather than restricting, safe cycling infrastructure.

We, the developers, architects, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and transportation planners of the National Capital Region, urge you to reconsider the 2024 Road Congestion Relief and Time Savings Act, listen to experts in the field, and position Ontario as a leader in the development of safe cycling infrastructure.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Signed,
Brigil
Windmill Developments
Theia Partners
DreamTCU Development Corporation
Linebox Studio
Hobin Architecture
CSV Architects
Siteform Inc
Perkins & Will
Arcadis
Re:Public Urbanism
DS Studio
Architects DCA
Kadus Group
S.J. Lawrence Architect Inc