Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the provincial government is introducing legislation that would require municipalities to receive provincial approval before removing traffic lanes to install new bike paths.

The government, which has made gridlock a priority, intends to introduce legislation next week to change the process for installing bike lanes across the province

Some observers are pushing back on the idea that bike lanes cause traffic congestion as the Ontario government embarks on a potential shakeup for how future bikeways get the green light.Last week, the Ontario government announced it's seeking to pass legislation that would require municipalities to get provincial approval for new bike lanes that would take space away from vehicles.

TORONTO — Ontario tabled its first bill of the fall legislative sitting on Monday, in a bid to give the province veto power over some bike lanes, accelerate highway construction projects and ease environmental assessments for new highways.

Ontario has tabled its first bill as a new legislative sitting gets underway today, which would give the province the power to stop cities from constructing some new bike lanes.

The Ontario government says it will introduce legislation that would require municipalities to get provincial approval before building any new bike lanes that reduce lanes of vehicle traffic.Municipalities would need to demonstrate any proposed bike lanes will not have a "negative impact on vehicle traffic,