Bill 60 forces changes to 27 Ottawa cycling projects, city says impact 'modest'

Ottawa's cycling network is about to look a little different, but maybe not as different as some feared. City staff have confirmed that Bill 60, the provincial law giving Queen's Park new authority over bike lanes that remove vehicle travel lanes, will touch 27 active or planned cycling projects across the capital.

What Bill 60 actually does

Passed by the Ontario government, Bill 60 requires municipalities to get provincial approval before building or maintaining bike lanes that reduce the number of lanes available to cars. The law was pitched by the province as a way to cut down on traffic congestion, but it's landed with a thud in cities like Ottawa and Toronto that have spent years building out active transportation networks as part of their climate and safety goals.

For Ottawa, that means dozens of projects already in the pipeline, some fully designed, some just getting off the ground, now need a second look to figure out whether they fall under the province's new rules.

City staff say the damage is limited

Despite the scope of 27 affected projects, city staff have told council the overall impact will be "relatively modest." That's partly because many of Ottawa's planned bike lanes are being added alongside road reconstruction work rather than by removing existing vehicle lanes outright, which may keep them outside Bill 60's scope. Others can likely be redesigned to avoid triggering the province's approval process altogether, for instance, by using painted buffers or parking-protected lanes instead of full lane removals.

Still, city staff acknowledged that some projects will face delays while Ottawa works out which category they fall into, and a handful may need to be redesigned or scaled back to comply with the new provincial framework.

Why this matters for Ottawa residents

Ottawa has been steadily expanding its cycling network in recent years, from downtown routes near the Rideau Canal to suburban connections in areas like Kanata and Barrhaven. Advocates have pushed hard for safer, separated infrastructure as commuter cycling has grown, especially with the O-Train network still filling gaps in some parts of the city.

For residents who rely on bike lanes to get to work, school, or just around the neighbourhood, the big question is whether Bill 60 slows down projects they've been waiting years for. City staff's early read suggests most projects will survive relatively intact, but Ottawa's transportation committee is expected to get more detailed updates on individual project timelines in the coming months as staff work through the province's new approval process.

For now, cyclists watching projects near them, whether it's a long-promised route through Centretown or a suburban connector: should expect some paperwork delays, but not necessarily a scrapped plan. Council will likely revisit specific project statuses as staff finish sorting out which of the 27 fall squarely under the new law.

Source: Ottawa Citizen