Alberta is taking action to rein in city councils that have used backroom deals to push through controversial bike lanes and road changes without listening to the concerns of everyday drivers.
Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen confirmed in a year-end interview with True North that his department is drafting legislation for 2026. This legislation could require municipalities to conduct traffic impact assessments before removing driving lanes or installing bike lanes on major roads.
“We are going to be looking at, in the new year, introducing legislation regarding bike lanes and looking at traffic impact assessments,” Dreeshen said. “We are looking as a province to have legislation so that bike lanes are put in logical places and that you can just do proper city planning going forward.”
The comments signal a potential expansion of provincial oversight into municipal transportation decisions, especially where projects affect major commuter corridors. Dreeshen said population growth and congestion are forcing the province to reconsider how much discretion cities should have over roads that serve a broader regional function.
“We’ve seen over 400,000 new drivers in Alberta in the last six years,” he said.
Dreeshen pointed to repeated disputes in Edmonton and Calgary, where residents have accused city councils of approving bike lane projects despite petitions and neighbourhood opposition. In Edmonton’s Delton neighbourhood, residents submitted a petition showing a clear majority opposed to planned bike lanes, but council voted to proceed anyway.
The minister said municipal consultation often occurred at a high-level budget stage rather than at the street or community level.
Dreeshen previously hinted at drafting legislation to amend the Traffic Safety Act after meeting with Delton residents. The amendments would force municipalities to conduct traffic impact assessments before building bike lanes that replace driving roads.
The minister previously said his department was monitoring legal developments in Ontario, where the provincial government has moved to assert greater authority over municipal bike lane decisions, as Alberta weighs its own approach.
While he initially said that he’d give new councils a chance to change lanes, the legislation is confirmed to be forthcoming either way. Although Dreeshen specifically highlighted conversations he had with Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, where they discussed “the outrageous bike lanes that just really don’t make any sense.”
“They’re congesting certain roads and having negative impacts for adjacent roads, and they’re just not being used by cyclists in the city,” said Dreeshen.
Dreeshen’s comments confirm the province’s intent to formalize its role in overseeing municipal bike lane decisions, following months of warnings that poorly planned projects could trigger provincial action.
Dreeshen was previously hopeful that election results for councillor roles would be influenced by candidates’ stances on bike lanes. However, this appears to have had little effect, at least in Edmonton, where only one incumbent seeking re-election failed.
He added that legislation should be coming in the spring, but that budget deliberations remain ongoing.
“The capital plan is always a tricky part of the budget because obviously with a huge population surge, we’re seeing new schools being built at record numbers, investments in healthcare, and new hospital towers,” said Dreeshen. “Those are obviously big, expensive capital projects that dip out of the same pool as transportation capital projects. So it’s always a bit of an arm wrestle in Treasury Board to make sure that transportation can get its capital infrastructure funding.”