Jaffer vows to axe bike lanes if elected mayor

Edmonton mayoral candidate Rahim Jaffer is promising to halt the expansion of bike lanes in the city, calling current plans a costly example of misplaced priorities.

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Edmonton mayoral candidate Rahim Jaffer is promising to halt the expansion of bike lanes in the city, calling current plans a costly example of misplaced priorities.

“There are some concerns with the way bike lanes have affected development and also the cost associated with bike lanes,” Jaffer said during a Thursday interview with CityNews.

Jaffer said that if elected, he would introduce a moratorium on new bike lanes, citing examples he’d seen as an Edmontonian.

“We have a huge demand for housing,” said Jaffer. “I'm standing across from a lot where there was going to be affordable housing built... a bike lane went right down the front of where the access point would be for the building. It got shelved.”

Jaffer previously sat down for an interview with True North at his campaign launch. He gave a similar example of a condo development being axed because a bike lane was built in front of it and accessibility was removed, forcing the project to be axed.

“I think this just continues to point out that sense that so many Edmontonians have, that their representatives are out of touch with what's happening, and I hope to change that,” he said.

CityNews also interviewed Edmonton Mayoral Candidate Andrew Knack, who inexplicably said that only investing in roads will somehow lead to more congestion.

“I don't support a moratorium. I don't support a moratorium on any of these things. I think that's that's a very sloppy way of governing,” he said. “I think if we have challenges that we need to address, let's make sure we're addressing them head-on, as we've done for the last 12 years.”

Bike lanes built in downtown Edmonton removed entire lanes on each side of two-lane roads in some of the busiest areas of the city.

Edmonton spends more of the year in the snow than it does outside of it, and bike lanes are generally unused in -40°C weather.

Edmonton Mayoral Candidate Tim Cartmell also told CityNews that he supports “bike plans” while not appearing to call for an outright moratorium on bike lanes.

He previously advocated for removing funding for the bike lane program, according to City News. However, he apparently wasn’t completely opposed, just felt that funding could be planned more appropriately.

True North previously highlighted residents of various Edmonton neighbourhoods turning to the province for help after the Edmonton City Council refused to acknowledge the majority opposition to bike lanes and pressed forward with the plans anyway.

A formal petition was submitted to the city that contained signatures from the majority of residents of the affected area. It was ignored.

“What we oppose is the unfair, unsafe and undemocratic way this particular plan has been forced upon us,” wrote petition organizer Jeremiah Rawling in a letter to the provincial municipal affairs minister.

Given that the majority of residents of various communities are opposed to bike lanes, it could become a deciding factor in the upcoming municipal elections on October 20, 2025.