Opposition MPPs slammed amendments to the Ford authorities’s controversial bike lane invoice Thursday, saying these strikes would create authorized protections for the province if cyclists are harm or killed after lanes are eliminated.
Talking to reporters after a gathering of the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Coverage, College-Rosedale NDP MPP Jessica Bell mentioned new amendments to Invoice 212 would make it so folks may now not sue the federal government if they’re harm on roadways because of bike lanes being taken out.
“What this implies is the conservatives wish to take away themselves from any accountability if somebody is injured or killed sooner or later,” Bell mentioned.
“It is heartbreaking, as a result of somebody might be injured or killed sooner or later.”
The Progressive Conservative authorities has been fast-tracking laws that will require Ontario municipalities to ask the province for permission to put in bike lanes after they would take away a lane of car site visitors.
The invoice additionally goes a step additional and provides the province the ability to take away the whole lot of three main bike lanes in Toronto on Bloor Avenue, Yonge Avenue and College Avenue, restoring them to automobile site visitors — strikes which were loudly decried by biking advocates.
WATCH | Cyclists rally for bike lanes:
Toronto cyclists rally in opposition to Ford authorities’s plan to take away bike lanes
Cyclists in Toronto rallied this weekend to guard bike lanes within the metropolis. It comes because the Ford authorities introduced plans earlier this month to tear up bike lanes throughout some main roads in Town. As Tyreike Reid explains, their struggle is now being supported by a few of Toronto’s high politicians.
Reporters repeatedly requested Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria Thursday if the amended invoice would, in truth, shield the federal government from lawsuits — and every time he didn’t reply the query and as an alternative pivoted to authorities speaking factors about site visitors congestion.
“All the things we do has the intention of security,” Sarkaria mentioned.
“We consider bike lanes needs to be on secondary roads.”
Whether or not or not the whole lot of all three bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and College might be eliminated stays up within the air, as provincial officers have supplied few specifics about their plans. Sarkaria did say greater than as soon as Thursday that the invoice would give the province the authority to “take away the whole lot of the lanes” on these three roadways.
“Folks perceive this has gone too far,” he mentioned.
“We have to have some frequent sense and reasonableness on this.”
Amendments to the invoice handed on the committee, nevertheless it nonetheless must be voted on in a 3rd studying on the provincial legislature — although with a Progressive Conservative majority, it’s more likely to move.
Opposition MPPs additionally took intention at different amendments to the invoice Thursday, together with these centered on who pays for the elimination of motorbike lanes.
WATCH | What bike lanes imply for this wheelchair person:
How one wheelchair person feels about prospect of dropping bike lanes
Oda Al-Anizi outfitted his wheelchair with a particular attachment that remodeled it into a motorbike, permitting him to navigate the town as a bike owner. As he advised CBC’s Talia Ricci, it’s been a gamechanger.
Toronto Metropolis Supervisor Paul Johnson beforehand advised Ontario Chronicle that the province needs to be overlaying prices not only for the elimination of the lanes, but additionally for his or her authentic implementation, contemplating employees and planning time.
One modification launched Thursday particularly states the province isn’t required to reimburse municipalities for prices incurred when bike lanes had been being put in.
As the controversy over this invoice rages on, hundreds of thousands in taxpayer {dollars} are at stake. A Toronto metropolis employees report from earlier this month concluded that work to take away the three bike lanes would value greater than $48 million and certain result in solely minimally quicker commutes for drivers.
Sarkaria mentioned the province will foot the invoice for elimination prices, but additionally mentioned he would not consider the town’s estimate, as it’s double the value tag of the preliminary set up.
Talking on the committee assembly Thursday, Oshawa NDP MPP Jennifer French accused the province of advancing a plan with the twofold distinction of being costly and harmful.
“It is a political resolution and individuals are going to be killed,” she mentioned.
