Ont. bill compels cars to give bikes space

Toronto MPP Cheri DiNovo tabled a private member's bill on Tuesdaythatrequires motorists to maintain certain minimum distances from bicycles when passing them on roads.

The bill would amend Ontario's Highway Traffic Act to mandate that drivers must ensure, where possible, at least three feet (0.9 metres) of clearance when passing cyclists at speeds of less than 50 km/h.

If drivers are driving atspeedsbetween 50 km/h and 80 km/h, they would have to ensure four feet (1.2 metres) of clearance.

For speeds above 80 km/h, drivers would have to maintain five feet (1.5 metres) of space. Drivers who don't adhere to the rules would be fined.

"Certainly, this is a bill that will affect the safety of everyone in Toronto, whether they are cyclists or not," said DiNovo, the NDP transit critic. "First and foremost, cyclists, because it will make our streets safer for them.

"Second of all, if we make our streets safer for cyclists,[then we]make our streets and our city safer and all cities across Ontario safer for everyone."

DiNovo announced the bill at a news conference at Queen's Park on Tuesday.

The introduction of the bill comes after a particularly horrific weekend for cyclists in central Canada.

Three cyclists were killed and and another three injured when a truck crashed into them on a highway southeast of Montreallast Friday. The following day, a 57-year-old man died when a vehicle driven by a woman who police say failed a breathalyzer test struck him as he was cycling in the Quebec town of Val Morin.

On Sunday,a 16-year-old cyclist died after colliding with a motorcycle in west Ottawa.

Bill panned as 'utopian'

Yvonne Bambrick, the head of the cycling advocacy group Toronto Cyclists Union, lauded DiNovo's proposed bill.

"Cyclists need room to manoeuvre," she said. "We all know, especially in Toronto and on our highways, the roadway's not always perfect. You need a little bit of room.

"And also, when you've got people passing at speed, the wind that comes off of drivers can make cyclists fall over."

But Ellen Greenwood, an urban planner who opposed Toronto's move to install bike lanes on Jarvis Street, isn't convinced of the merits of the bill.

"I think it's utopian and very impractical," she said.

Greenwood also said she thinks it will be hard to enforce the new rules.

But DiNovo said France, Germany, Spain and several U.S. states have enacted similar laws and Ontario should be next.

Around 7,500 cyclists suffer serious injuries every year in Canada. It's estimated that as many as 70,000 others are treated in hospital emergency rooms for cycling-related injuries.

In 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, 65 cyclists died on Canadian roads. That's 2.3 per cent of the total number of road fatalities, according to Transport Canada.