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Toronto could see more than 20 kilometres of new bike lanes installed in a proposal that manages to get around\u00a0the provincial government\u2019s attempts to clamp down on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Car lanes won’t need to be sacrificed if the bikeways are approved. Instead, city staff propose <\/a>to narrow them down. <\/p>\n Mayor Olivia Chow said the plan is \u201cnot a loophole\u201d for provincial legislation at an unrelated news conference earlier this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a better design,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom day one, I said there\u2019s a win-win solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s Bill 212 <\/a>\u2014 along with the recently-passed Bill 60<\/a> \u2014 both restrict municipalities from building bike lanes that impede traffic lanes for cars.<\/p>\n When asked if Toronto found a way to circumvent provincial rules at the same news conference as Chow, Ontario\u2019s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was supportive of the city’s strategy.<\/p>\n “If there is a way in which you can have both a vehicle lane and a bike lane on the same street, then that is OK,” he said. <\/p>\n With an estimated price tag of more than $30 million, the proposed lanes are designed to connect existing bike routes located mostly outside the downtown core. It marks the city’s most ambitious attempt to build new bike lanes since provincial restrictions kicked in. <\/p>\n In 2024, a total of 14.5 kilometres of bike lanes were approved, and in 2023, 17.9 kilometres were approved, according to the city. <\/p>\n The 20.5 kilometres of new bikeways is a significant amount for a single proposal, says Michael Longfield, executive director of advocacy group Cycle Toronto. It\u2019s especially notable after the city\u2019s previous cycling infrastructure<\/a> update this summer proposed zero kilometres of new bike lanes, \u201cwhich was fairly unprecedented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite his enthusiasm, Longfield said, “you can’t take anything for granted. We’ve seen projects approved by city council that end up in limbo for years afterwards because of various factors.” <\/p>\n City staff are also proposing lower speed limits, new stop signs and traffic-control signals, and prohibiting right turns on red along the proposed bike routes.<\/p>\n The proposal also seeks to upgrade existing cycling infrastructure.<\/p>\n Lane proposed for Kingston Road<\/p>\n The largest proposed route is a six-kilometre lane on Kingston Road, stretching from Cliffside Drive to Scarborough Golf Club Road.<\/p>\n WATCH | What to know about Toronto’s bike lane rules: Find Toronto’s bike lane rules confusing? You’re not the only one <\/p>\n Some Toronto city councillors are looking\u00a0to make rules around bike lanes easier to understand. CBC’s Lane Harrison explains how.\u00a0<\/p>\n But residents are concerned about losing parking spaces, the removal of right-hand turns and speed limits being reduced from 60 km\/h to 50 km\/h on Kingston Road, according to city councillor Parthi Kandavel, whose ward most of the lane would pass through.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is people are going at 60 km\/h. So I\u2019m going to be looking to maintain that,\u201d he told CBC Toronto, adding he will propose amendments to the project.<\/p>\n A little over half \u2014 51 per cent \u2014 of people surveyed in public consultations<\/a> opposed the new bike lane, mostly citing concerns about increased congestion. The 43 per cent who supported it said the changes could make the road safer.<\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764903008_554_default.jpg\")
How the city is proposing to install a cycle track on Kingston Road without getting rid of car lanes. (City of Toronto)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764903009_812_default.jpg\")
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