The Ontario government announced on Tuesday that it will proceed with restoring car lanes on several major Toronto thoroughfares where road space had been converted into bike lanes, including Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue.
The decision follows a recent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal in favor of the province.
The Government has now launched a request for proposals (RFP) to study and develop design options for Bloor Street, Yonge Street, University Avenue, Queen's Park, Queen's Park Crescent and Avenue Road.
“Our Government has received a clear and direct mandate from the people of Ontario to combat congestion, including by restoring the necessary vehicle lanes to keep drivers moving,” said Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria. “We are delivering on our promise.”
According to the province, the process will also analyze possibilities for maintaining or reconfiguring cycle paths in locations where they can coexist with car traffic without, in the Government's understanding, worsening congestion.
Work is expected to begin immediately on Bloor Street West, from Clissold Road, in an area where the province considers little additional design work to be necessary.
By December 2025, the Government had already completed the reinstatement of a lane for cars on a stretch of approximately 600 meters between Resurrection Road and Clissold Road, while maintaining a cycle path.
The announcement comes after the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in favor of Ontario in a lawsuit related to the province's bicycle lane policy.
According to the Government, the court considered that decisions regarding the design of public roads constitute a matter of public policy under the responsibility of the elected legislature.
Provincial legislation passed through the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 and the Plan to Protect Ontario Act, 2025 mandates the reinstatement of traffic lanes on certain sections of Toronto.
The government also justifies the intervention with the economic costs of congestion. According to a report by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis cited by the province, road congestion represents an estimated annual cost of $56 billion for Ontario.
Nadia Todorova, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), considered that restoring road capacity, while maintaining cycle paths whenever possible, seeks to find "an important balance between mobility, safety and accessibility".
Sam Pappas, a businessman and resident of the Bloor Street area, thanked the Ford Government for the decision, stating that the change will allow them to recover "a system that works for the majority".
Sérgio Mourato
Content published on the Senso Magazine website is automatically translated using Google Translate services.
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