Bill 60 may have been sold as a housing reform package, but now that it has officially passed, its biggest impact may be felt far beyond the rental market for cyclists—on Ontario’s streets, and especially in its bike lanes.
Tucked deep inside the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 are new restrictions that effectively bar municipalities from creating bike lanes that require road reconfigurations. It’s the Ford government’s latest attempt to claw back local authority over cycling infrastructure.
The province has insisted that cycling projects contribute to congestion, but its own expert evidence—revealed during a successful court challenge in July—showed no such link.
That case, led by Cycle Toronto and supported by Eva Stanger-Ross and Narada Kiondo, protected 19 km of protected lanes on Bloor, University, and Yonge. While the province is appealing, the court was blunt: the policy was arbitrary, increased risk to cyclists, and did not advance its stated goals.
Cycling advocates say Bill 60 confirms what they long suspected. “This is a government doubling down on a bad-faith culture war,” Cycle Toronto executive director Michael Longfield said, warning the bill will worsen congestion and endanger people who rely on bikes to get around. Experts note protected lanes cut collisions by 35–50 per cent, a fact seemingly ignored in the rush to legislate.
He added that, “this is further proof that any claims this time last year that the Province of Ontario intended to collaborate with municipalities on data-driven decisions…were never sincere. This is a government wasting your tax dollars by doubling down on a bad-faith culture war. It will only make congestion worse while putting people’s lives at risk.”
Meanwhile, the bill’s housing measures—now law—have sparked their own backlash. Tenant groups say the changes will accelerate evictions, limit appeals, and tilt the system toward landlords. The government insists the reforms will boost supply and stabilize rents, but protests at Queen’s Park and criticism from advocates suggest a long political fight ahead.