London's deputy mayor thinks provincial bike lane standards will help streamline rules

A bike lane is shown in this file photo. (Chris Fox/CP24.com)

The Ontario government is introducing legislation that will require municipalities to receive provincial approval before removing traffic lanes to install new bike paths.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria made the announcement on Tuesday morning, noting that the plan will bring “informed decision making and oversight to a process that is frankly, out of control.”

London's deputy mayor said provincial standards for bike lanes would help streamline rules for municipalities, and they wouldn't prevent the city from installing bike lanes on boulevards or multi-use paths through parks.

“It is just about, from what we're hearing, where lanes of traffic are being removed. So I don’t think it's a bad idea to have some provincial standards applied there, particularly when a lot of municipal projects are looking for matching dollars in provincial funding,” said Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis.

Sarkaria said the call about whether or not a new bike lane can be installed in a municipality will ultimately rest with the minister of transportation.

— With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman