Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s not concerned about bike lanes in Ottawa as the government seeks to destroy bike lanes on major roads in Toronto and other areas of the province.

When asked if there were any bike lanes he would consider removing in Ottawa, Ford told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Bill Carroll that he felt the city’s traffic flow was better than in Toronto .

“In Toronto, it’s bike lanes on steroids,” he said.

“We’re focusing on Toronto, on Younge Street, University and Bloor Streets, and a few others. I’m going to work with the mayor, but when I was (in Ottawa), traffic was going pretty well. “

The Progressive Conservative government introduced a bill last month that would require municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they remove a car lane. The government then went further by proposing a new rule that would require the city of Toronto to destroy certain bike lanes and restore them for automobile traffic.

“We just want to keep traffic moving and we want to make sure cyclists are safe,” Ford said.

Minister of Transport Prabmeet Sakaria Ottawa was singled out and other cities last month in announcing the legislation, saying bike lanes have expanded significantly and raised uncertainty about their impacts on traffic.

“Like the underutilized bike lanes on Cedar and Joseph streets in downtown Kitchener that make it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass, or O’Connor Street in Ottawa, where lanes were unnecessarily removed on a key artery , making it dangerous for drivers and cyclists,” he said.

There are more than 100 cycling projects listed in the City of Ottawa’s draft Transportation Master Plan, including separated bike lanes on Innes Road, Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard, Richmond Road, Maitland, Pinecrest Road and Greenbank Road, Woodroffe Avenue and Meadowlands Drive. , Smyth Road, Riverside Drive and Bank Street South.

The City is also exploring the possibility of creating cycle paths on Bank Street, across the Glebe, on Elgin Street, on Sussex Drive and on Somerset Street.

Thirteen municipal councilors signed an open letter opposing the legislation. Many have called it overstepping for the province to intervene in transportation decisions made by municipalities.

Community groups in favor of bike lanes protested outside the Château Laurier hotel Tuesday as Ford spoke at a conference hosted by the Economic Club of Canada.

“I’m here to suggest that Doug Ford doesn’t have to interfere with city bike lanes. It would be up to municipal politicians and if the residents of those cities don’t like it, they can vote against those politicians. But that doesn’t “It’s not Doug Ford’s business to destroy our bike lanes or our bike infrastructure,” cyclist Hans Posthuma said at the protest.

Ford announced new funding for police and other public safety initiatives to help asylum seekers and homeless residents at Tuesday’s conference.

During a “fireside chat” with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, cycle lanes were not discussed.