Removing bike lanes will cost at least $48M: city staff report

Removing bike lanes in Toronto will cost at least $48 million, a city staff report says.

The report comes after the Ontario government introduced legislation to remove bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street.

"The removal of existing bike lanes will be a complex project that will be challenging to implement within a short-time period, due to planning, design and construction requirements," the report says.

According to the report, the removal will mean the city loses the $27 million it has invested in installing the infrastructure.

The removal also means "as yet unknown additional costs to identify, design, and construct alternative cycling routes" and "as yet unknown additional staff resources and infrastructure costs to redesign and reconstruct these roads to add space for motor vehicles," the report says.

Ripping out the bike lanes would have other impacts on Toronto too, the report notes, including "increased travel times for drivers due to traffic congestion from additional construction that would be necessary to facilitate the removal of existing bike lanes."

"Restoring vehicle lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street would take additional staff resources and time to redesign and reconstruct these roads, and would negatively impact driver travel time and businesses during construction, with likely minimal improvements in travel time once lanes are removed."

Bike lanes promote "active transportation," the report says, adding they come with public health, environmental and economic benefits.

Removing them would also limit the city's ability to meet its TransformTO target of net zero emissions in Toronto by 2040.