More Provincial Interference with Bill 60

Here we go again, folks! And unfortunately, not in a good way.

When Queen’s Park resumed on October 20, the Ford government introduced two omnibus bills which contains provisions that are hostile to road safety advocates. Bill 56 – Building a More Competitive Economy Act – includes a provision which bans speed cameras and received royal assent on Monday, November 3 after skipping the committee stage. Yesterday, the Ford government announced Bill 60 – Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act – will also skip committee stage after Second Reading and go straight to Third Reading. Talk about an affront to the democratic process!

What is Bill 60?

Whereas last year’s Bill 212 required “prescribed municipalities” to get provincial approval to install bike lanes which remove traffic lanes, Bill 60 contains a provision which outright bans cities from removing traffic lanes for bike lanes or any other prescribed purpose. For clarity purposes, this portion is not subject to the charter challenge, but rather the bike lane removal provision for Bloor, Yonge, and University which will go to the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 28, 2026.

Upon royal assent, Bills 56 and 60 would effectively gut the City of Toronto’s ability to redesign Parkside Drive despite repeated calls from local residents to make the street safer. Something I argued in this letter to the editor given Helen and I used to live near Parkside. Bill 60 would also put other projects at risk such as Dupont, Danforth (Victoria Park to Kingston), Sheppard (Bayview to Leslie), and Eglinton which was recently resurfaced without bike lanes. Groups like TTCriders argued this legislation could lead to a slippery slope in which bus lanes, CaféTO patios, and even street festivals could be at risk despite the government insisting it only applies to bike lanes at this time. However, the media has focused mostly on anti-tenant provisions such as scrapping month-to-month leases. While the Ford government has backed off on that aspect due to swift and significant backlash, there are still other anti-tenant provisions which you can find out from ACORN.

Responding to the Bill

With no election expected until 2029 (or even 2030), we need to be realistic in our response. The Ontario Regulatory Registry is collecting comments on Bill 60 which I encourage you to submit by Saturday, November 22. There could also be opportunities for direct action including the upcoming World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims happening on Sunday, November 16 at 4:30 PM. However, it should be noted there are still some cycling projects such as Bathurst, Ellesmere, Kingston, and Trethewey which can go ahead since they don’t remove traffic lanes. There are also opportunities on other wide suburban stroads to install cycle tracks within the boulevards or convert sidewalks into multi-use paths.

However, I think this setback for cyclists can present an opportunity that can channel the late Premier’s brother Rob who called for moving bike paths off-road when he was Mayor. Perhaps it’s time to call for a provincial trails plan? Of course, trails will never nullify the need for bike lanes.

A Provincial Trails Plan

In 2023 and 2024, I wrote a couple of blog posts calling for the filling of gaps within Ontario’s extensive rail trail network. A few significant updates have materialized since then including the following:

• The Barrie Collingwood Railway Trail from Stayner to Angus has been partially completed to New Lowell and is expected to wrap up next spring.
• The Orangeville Brampton Rail Trail – which will connect multiple trails – is undergoing detailed design per the Town of Caledon, though no construction timelines are available.
• New Tecumseth’s Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan calls for the eventual linking of the Thornton Cookstown and Caledon trails, though construction timelines remain unknown.
• Haldimand County is working on a new trails plan which needs to connect Caledonia to Dunnville, as well as Dunnville to Port Colborne via the Gord Harry Conservation Trail.
• The TRCA recently broke ground on the Brimley Road South trail as part of the larger Scarborough Waterfront Project from Bluffer’s Park to East Point Park.
• The East Don Trail is nearing completion with city staff recently confirming the remaining bridge work and final paving could be done as early as next week – weather permitting – except for the final 80 metres from the Taylor Creek bridge to Charles Sauriol Park.
• The City of Toronto developed a trails plan in 2012 which has since been incorporated into their three-year bike plans. However, a new trails plan should be made to account for the progress made since then.

A provincial trails plan would require co-ordination between the various municipal (or regional) trail plans, funding, and standardized wayfinding to help give Québec’s Route Verte system a run for their money. Having biked several rail trails across this province, I know there already are strong bones in place. What’s needed is to stitch everything together into one cohesive network.

East Don Trail construction as of October 2025

Looking Forward

While the continued provincial interference regarding road safety can make things depressing with an election not likely before 2029, there are still ways to turn these setbacks into opportunities until a friendlier government can be elected. However, the City of Toronto also needs to learn from this experience by ensuring cycling projects get built a lot faster! If they can do this during the pandemic with 30 km of bike lanes installed in 2020 (and another 20 km in 2021), they can do it again.