December 17, 2025 - Following a protest ride with close to 100 cyclists, Guelph’s mayor, Cam Guthrie, has reversed a decision about bike lane maintenance using his Strong Mayor Powers reports CTV News and other outlets.
In November, while council was looking for ways to save money in the city’s 2026 budget, they decided to remove $650,000 that would be used for bike lane winter maintenance. A bylaw was also written up to shut down those lanes down until April.
Cycling supporters and advocates quickly mobilized a protest ride against the decision. “Tonight’s ride is a response to the City of Guelph’s decision – in a 6-7 vote, very close – to shut down winter maintenance on bike lanes,” said David Shellnutt, a cyclist advocate and founder of The Biking Lawyer. Shellnutt also wrote the city about its legal obligations as Municipalities in Ontario have a duty to keep public roads in a reasonable state of repair under the Municipal Act – read more here.
According to Guthrie, “I needed to find a way of figuring out how I could add the service back in, but at the same time does not raise property taxes, and was able to figure it out.”
