A congestion crisis, traffic nightmare or incessant traffic jam – whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem.

Earlier this year, the TomTom Traffic Indexwhich ranks travel times in nearly 400 cities around the world, estimates that it takes an average of 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometers in the city. Toronto ranks third in the world for congestion levels, behind London and Dublin, and well ahead of New York and Mexico City.

And the more time people spend in their cars, the less productive they are. that of Toronto Congestion Working Group estimates the loss of productivity – due to traffic – at around $11 billion.

To alleviate some of the congestion, the Ontario government announced plans to remove bike lanes from three major roads, citing low ridership and congestion. Under new legislation introduced last month, Ontario cities would also have to get permission from the province to install new bike lanes that would remove lanes of car traffic.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow criticized the Ford government’s plan to unilaterally remove bike lanes, some of which were only recently completed.

Premier Doug Ford, who lives in Toronto’s west end, complained about the installation of bike lanes in the area, saying the street was congested.

“You might see four or five bikes as you see traffic lined up all along the road for miles and miles. … It’s an absolute disaster,” he said last month.

The province says census data shows only 1.2 per cent of residents in the Toronto census metropolitan area use bike lanes to get around. Critics say that figure is misleading because the area spans nearly 6,000 square kilometers and includes suburban areas like Richmond Hill, Oakville and Vaughan, all far from the city center.

“It seems wrong or ill-informed to blame bike lanes for the city’s inability to combat traffic congestion,” said Marvin Macaraig, a health promoter at Access Alliance, an organization that provides health and community services. “Highway 401 is congested all day and there is no bike lane.”

Macaraig says many other cities have had success with bike lanes, pointing to New York City statistics that show travel times on one Manhattan street decreased by 35 percent after cycle paths have been installed.

“Cycle lanes are a proven solution to tackling local congestion,” he said. “Other cities are moving forward with this system, and it seems like if we remove it now, we’ll go backwards. »

Experts say the cause of Toronto’s congestion isn’t bike lanes, but rather population growth coupled with decades of underinvestment in public transit.

“We told everyone ‘you have to drive,’” said Shoshanna Saxe, an associate professor in the University of Toronto’s department of civil and mineral engineering and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure. “The whole point of building bike paths is to give people an option. »

This is a statement echoed by Mayor Chow on social media.

“Congestion in this city is partly the result of the province’s failure to deliver transit projects on time and has led to long construction delays and years of road closures,” he said. she writes.

Saxe believes Ford’s plan to remove bike lanes will not only make streets more congested, but will also make cycling less safe for those who choose to ride bikes.

“Literally, people are going to die,” she said. “Companies will make less money; the air quality will be worse and the city will be more congested.

Saxe says there is an “if you build it, they will come” factor when it comes to bike lanes.

“A lot of people are waiting to have the choice to leave their cars and a lot of people don’t have that yet,” she says. “And that’s the exact opposite of what the province is doing.” We need to invest in more infrastructure so people don’t have to drive. »

The province says it’s not opposed to bike lanes, but doesn’t want them to take away traffic lanes and wants to see them on secondary roads.

“We are doing everything we can to combat traffic jams and keep major arteries moving,” Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement.

The province says it will reimburse cities for removal fees for bikes ordered removed, although Toronto’s city manager wants the government to go further.

“That would be staff time, development time,” Paul Johnson said. “Looking at the work that was done, not just the construction itself.”