Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has fired back at a controversial bid by the Ontario government that would force municipalities to seek provincial approval before installing new bike lanes.

Chow took to social media, slamming the move by the Ford government that, if approved, would require municipalities to prove that proposed bike lanes will not negatively impact vehicle traffic — essentially giving the province the final say on whether cycling infrastructure is built anywhere in Ontario. 

"Cities in Ontario have seen an explosion of bike lanes, including many that were installed during the pandemic when fewer vehicles were on the road and their impacts on traffic were unclear," said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.

Ontario wants to make it a lot harder for Toronto and other cities to install bike laneshttps://t.co/CGsQagGuqZ

— blogTO (@blogTO) October 15, 2024

In response to Sarkaria's polarizing comments, Chow characterized the proposed legislature as "limiting city powers," and essentially told the Ford government to stay in its own lane, writing, "The Province should focus on their job of finally getting the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRTs open, which will have a huge impact on congestion in our city."

I do not support limiting city powers. It’s always better when we work together to get things right. To tackle congestion and keep people safe on city roads we need all types of transportation. The Province should focus on their job of finally getting the Eglinton Crosstown and…

— Mayor Olivia Chow (@MayorOliviaChow) October 15, 2024

Chow's comments spurred a heated debate on social platforms like X on Tuesday afternoon, with many users siding with the premier's plan to limit bike lane construction, and others agreeing with the mayor that the province should leave city planning to cities.

Not to throw cold water on those who applauded the mayor's statement, but the reality of the situation is that the province can dictate the rules here without any effective mechanisms for the City to fight the legislation.

At the end of the day, if Doug Ford wants to make it impossible to construct bike lanes, tear down Ontario Place, or even take it a step further and turn City Hall into a giant beer outlet, there is little any municipal government can do to stop it.

It's quite the 180 from a government that happily handed down controversial strong mayor powers at a time when a conservative-leaning mayor was at the helm in City Hall, only to later strip away a key planning ability from municipalities that one would imagine will disproportionately affect residents on the left side of the political spectrum.