Bike lane plans: Ford wants changes in Toronto [Video]

A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock — whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem.

Earlier this year, the TomTom Traffic Index, which ranks travel times across nearly 400 global cities, estimated that it takes 29 minutes, on average, to drive 10 kilometres in the city. Toronto ranked number three in the world for congestion levels, behind only 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. Toronto’s Congestion Task Force pegs the loss of productivity — due to traffic — at around $11 billion. 

To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways, pointing to low uptake and congestion. As part of new legislation tabled last month, Ontario cities would also have to get the province’s permission to install new bike lanes …