This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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NDP transit critic Rosario Marchese and GTA critic Jonah Schein expressed concern that the Government promised provincial bike strategy, already more than 3 years in the making, is once again being delayed.
Transportation Minister Glen Murray said today that the government’s draft bike strategy is not strong enough and he is striking a panel to review the strategy.
“The Minister is revisiting a strategy that has already been worked on for over three years by two previous Ministers of Transportation. This government’s continued roadblocks and delays are a disappointment to the hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who cycle each day,” said Jonah Schein, who questioned the Minister about lack of progress on the strategy in the legislature on Monday.
Kathleen Wynne announced that the government was working on a new provincial bike strategy in the spring of 2010. An NDP Freedom of Information request found that a draft of the strategy was completed in April 2011, but the government delayed its release until December 2012.
Last year was Toronto’s deadliest year for cycling fatalities since 1998. In June, the Ontario Coroner released a report showing that 100% of the cycling deaths he examined were preventable.
“It’s time for the government to stop dawdling and start protecting cyclists by setting up a cycling infrastructure fund, revising the outdated Highway Traffic Act, and putting in place planning rules to ensure that streets are safe for all users,” said Marchese.
Schein said that the government’s decision last fall to allow the removal of the Jarvis Bike lane without a provincial environmental assessment – and the government’s tardiness in finalizing a new bike strategy – show that cycling is a low priority for the government.
Earlier this year, Schein and Marchese responded to the province’s draft cycling strategy, urging several policy measures, including a one-metre passing rule, mandatory side guards for large trucks, and clarity on the legality of contraflow bike lanes. This document can be found here: http://rosariomarchese.ca/rosario-marchese-jonah-schein-respond-to-the-governments-cycling-strategy/
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