TORONTO — City of Toronto staff are estimating that the Ontario government’s plan to remove bike lanes on three major roads will cost more than $48 million.

The Progressive Conservative government is fast-tracking legislation that would require municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.

It also plans to go one step further and remove sections of Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue bike lanes and restore them as lanes for vehicle traffic.

But Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, an avid cyclist herself, asked city staff to look into what can be done because she says the legislation will overturn the decisions and work of a democratically elected council at “tremendous” cost to the taxpayer.

Staff say in their report that the estimated cost of over $48 million includes road reconstruction and road resurfacing, but doesn’t include any potential costs associated with changing or cancelling existing construction or maintenance contracts.

Councillors are set to debate Chow’s motion at this week’s council meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press