What to know
- Bradford voted in favour of installing bike lanes on Bloor Street West in 2023.
- The mayoral candidate now says the bike lanes have contributed to congestion and that he would remove them and restore vehicle lanes if elected mayor.
- Biking advocate David Shellnutt is criticizing Bradford’s change in position, raising concerns about cyclist safety and the feasibility and cost of removing the lanes.
- The Bloor Street West bike lanes have also been at the centre of a $10-million lawsuit launched by 40 Etobicoke businesses, who say the lanes have increased congestion and hurt their businesses.
- Bradford says he would continue investing in cycling infrastructure, but would focus new bike lanes on parallel roads and residential streets rather than major arterial roads.
A biking advocate is criticizing mayoral candidate Brad Bradford for vowing to remove bike lanes in a portion of Bloor Street West after voting to install them in 2023.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto Mayoral candidate and city councillor Brad Bradford vowed that if elected, he would remove bike lanes and restore traffic lanes on Bloor Street West between South Kingsway West and Resurrection Road. The candidate shared that the move comes after he spoke to locals and experienced first-hand the traffic congestion in the area.
“In many respects, this is a part of town that has become defined by congestion. It’s a street that’s had half of its vehicle lane capacity removed,” he said.
“When I’m the Mayor of Toronto, the bike lanes on Bloor St.W.… [are] coming out, and the vehicle lanes are going back in. That’s a commitment. That’s not a review. That’s not a pilot. That’s not a study that’s going to sit on the shelf for years.”
Bradford initially voted in favour of bike lanes
Back in the summer of 2023, Toronto’s city council approved the installation of bike lanes along Bloor St. W. between Runnymede Rd. and Resurrection Rd. One vehicle lane was removed from both directions in the area to allow for the installation.
The project passed 21-1, with Bradford among the councillors who voted to approve it at the time.
Bradford acknowledged on Tuesday that he did in fact vote to approve the bike lanes “when they were plans on paper,” but said that things changed once councillors saw “the real-world feedback” of the project, and realized they “got this one wrong.”
“City Hall needs to have the humility to acknowledge when something isn’t working, and the courage and the commitment to go back and fix it. I have that,” he said.
Etobicoke businesses sued city for bike lanes
Last year, 40 Etobicoke businesses launched a lawsuit for $10 million in damages against the city, claiming it installed the bike lanes without proper consultation.
The group also asked for an injunction that would require the city to remove bike lanes and reinstate road traffic in the area. Businesses claim that the bike lane installation led to augmented traffic congestion and drove away business.
“These bike lanes in particular are not working. Sales are down. Traffic and congestion is up, and more than 40 business owners, your neighbours…felt so ignored that they are now suing their own city,” Bradford said on Tuesday.
“Think about that for a second. They are suing the City of Toronto. That should never happen. But that’s what happens when you take 50 per cent of the road capacity and allocate it to 0.005 of the road users. [It] doesn’t make any sense.”
Biking advocate calls out candidate
In light of Bradford’s commitment, biking lawyer and advocate David Shellnutt is calling out the councillor for the seeming change in attitude regarding bike lanes.
According to Shellnutt, in addition to voting in favour of the Etobicoke bike lane, Bradford has been seen advocating for bike lanes and attending biking events.
“[There is] a video of Bradford from February 2020 on Bloor West for the Coldest Day of the Year Ride, and he was there extolling and supporting the need for bike lanes in that area, and he subsequently voted for it,” Shellnutt told Now Toronto.
“It was really disappointing to see [his commitment to remove bike lanes], but perhaps predictable.”
Although Bradford claimed he realized the mistake of installing the bike lanes after feedback, Shellnutt points out the councillor “had years on council to raise this issue and make changes.”
“Given the factual underpinning of support for bike lanes, as clearly laid out by Cycle Toronto in their Charter Challenge, it is evident Bradford is ignoring facts and trying to reignite support for his campaign on an issue that has a tendency to attract a lot of heat/attention in Toronto,” the lawyer wrote in an email to Now Toronto.
Lawyer raises safety, feasibility concerns
Shellnutt is also raising concerns over the possible removal of the bike lanes and its potential consequences for the safety of bikers in the city.
“Without safe, protected infrastructure, the number of cyclists and frankly, pedestrians hit increases, and the number of injuries and deaths increase… That’s something that we’re really concerned about,” he said.
A study by the U.S. Department of Transportation shared by York University researchers suggests that the addition of bike lanes can reduce crashes by 49 per cent, while the conversion of traditional bike lanes to separated ones can reduce them by 53 per cent.
In addition, Shellnutt said unveiling projects to remove bike lanes could potentially exacerbate conflicts between bikers and drivers in the city.
Bike lanes have been a continuous debate in the city after Premier Doug Ford passed Bill 212, a controversial piece of legislation to dismantle major bike lanes in Toronto, along with plans to remove bike lanes along Bloor St., Yonge St. and University Ave. to reduce traffic congestion.
The plan was paused after an Ontario Superior Court ruled that the provincial government’s plan to remove bike lanes violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as it would make roads unsafe.
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According to Shellnutt, Bradford’s plans will also be difficult to implement after the decision.
“He’s going to have to spend municipal resources to somehow fight that decision. I don’t know how he does it, but let’s say the appeal does come through… It could be a year for that whole process to go, [and] very costly. This is just something that is not well thought through by Councillor Bradford,” he said.
Bradford promises new bike lanes
Despite the commitment to remove bike lanes on Bloor St. W., Bradford said he does not have “an agenda to rip out every bike lane in the city,” promising to invest in other bike lane projects.
The mayoral candidate said that, if elected, he would build other bike lane projects, including an unfinished Loop Trail and West Toronto Railpath Extension.
“When we build new bike lanes, they’re going to be on parallel roads and residential side streets, not the main arterials. Places [where] people actually want to ride their bikes without taking away vehicle lanes of traffic on arterial roads,” he told reporters.
