Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Metropolis of Toronto’s early estimate of the price to take away three main bike lanes is “a bunch of hogwash.”
“You know it doesn’t cost $50 million,” Ford instructed reporters on Tuesday. “We’re going to show them how to do it for a lot less and get traffic moving.”
Final week, metropolis workers mentioned the province’s proposed plan to tear out bike lanes on sections of Bloor Avenue, Yonge Avenue and College Avenue would value no less than $48 million.
“This estimate includes the cost of road reconstruction for sections of the streets that were recently reconstructed and would need to be rebuilt, and road resurfacing that would be required for other sections,” workers wrote in a report submitted to metropolis council final Wednesday.
They famous the worth tag doesn’t embody potential prices related to altering or cancelling current development, or upkeep contracts that could be impacted by the plan.
Employees mentioned of their report that eradicating the bike lanes would solely lead to minimal enhancements in journey time.
On Monday, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria additionally disputed the town’s price ticket, however didn’t present the province’s estimate.
“It can’t cost double the amount to remove them as it does to put them in place,” Sarkaria instructed reporters on Monday. He mentioned the province would foot the invoice for the plan.
On Monday, a legislative committee performed sooner or later of public hearings on the proposed regulation, which featured a Metropolis of Toronto official who defended the price estimate.
“The entirety of the cost is indicative of the fact that in sections that have been recently reconstructed, there are concrete curbs separating the bike lanes from the motor vehicle traffic,” mentioned Jacquelyn Hayward, the town’s director of planning, design and administration.
“There are catch basins that have been moved as a result. In order to put back the lanes in some places, you would have to redo the roads.”
Town has mentioned it already invested $27 million in designing and establishing the three bike lanes.
Final week, Toronto councillors handed two motions to specific their opposition to province’s bike lane elimination plan, requesting that the federal government as a substitute work with the town to handle congestion and highway security.
With information from The Canadian Press
