Please take a minute to complete the short survey at the end of this post, asking what you think about road widening, transit, and bike lanes.
On December 2, 2025, six of the seven city councillors voted to pass the 2026 budget (amendments) with a 5.8% increase in spending. We’ll see the Burlington line on our tax bill increase 5.8%. The 5.8% increase equates to nearly $17.5 million in additional revenue for the city. In addition to the $17.5 million in additional property tax revenue, the city will borrow $10 million.
Earlier this year, Focus Burlington conducted a survey, and our results showed that Burlington residents are increasingly concerned about traffic. A significant portion of the feedback centred on the poor state of traffic flow and traffic lights. Click here for more results from that survey: https://www.focusburlington.ca/our-survey-on-burlingtons-2026-budget/
In September, the city paid Deloitte to conduct a statistically valid telephone survey of Burlington residents. The two charts shown here are from the Deloitte survey.
None of this information is new. Traffic has been a concern for years. Traffic also has major impacts on transit.
What’s in the city’s budget to address traffic concerns?
No roads will be widened, and traffic lights will be timed to prioritize buses. Bus prioritization has been shown to worsen the traffic flow for cars.
Councillors Kearns and Sharman are hosting a Burlington Community Traffic Forum on April 1st at 6:30 pm at the AGB. This is an election year. Was April Fools’ Day an intentional choice?
In Burlington, the master plan, the Integrated Mobility Plan, is that we use active transit (walking, scooting, cycling) or public transit; roads will not be widened. For more information on this plan, click here: https://www.focusburlington.ca/imp/
Halton Region believes in widening roads to handle traffic increases. Dundas St. is a regional road and is being widened.
Here is a summary of road related projects, that we found, in the 2026 budget.
Walkers Line – Lakeshore Road to Highway 5
In 2026, the city will spend $10,884,000 on Walkers Line between the North Service Road and Dundas St. In 2027, the city will spend $8,725,000 on Walkers Line between Lakeshore Rd. and the QEW interchange.
The road won’t be widened, and bus laybys won’t be added. For everyone who cycles, protected bike lanes will be added.
We’re not sure if or how protected bike lanes will be added to the QEW overpass. Ontario’s Bill 212 requires Burlington to seek provincial approval to remove traffic lanes to install bike lanes.
Bus laybys let buses board and disembark passengers in a pull-over lane without blocking a traffic lane. When laybys were discussed during a council meeting, Burlington staff stated that laybys increase the risk for cyclists. Some municipalities have managed to safely add laybys and cycling lanes.
In total, $19,609,000 is being spent on Walkers Line over the next two years. The city doesn’t have all the money set aside for this project. Over $3 million is being borrowed. More than $5.6 million is coming from the Development Charges Reserve Fund, money contributed by people who purchased newly constructed homes, but the road is not being widened to accommodate additional traffic from new developments.
Fairview St. – Walkers Line to Appleby Line
The street is being renewed in 2026, the cost is $8,386,000, and the project includes protected bike lanes.
Upper Middle Road – Guelph Line to the 407 ETR crossing
The city will spend $5,669,000 to renew this stretch of road in 2026. The road won’t be widened, and bus laybys won’t be added. For everyone who cycles, protected bike lanes will be added.
Spruce Avenue (Walkers Line to Goodram Drive), Goodram Drive (Spruce Avenue to New Street), Shoreacres Place, and Mackay Court
The city will spend $4,012,000 to renew these roads in 2026. Bike lanes will be marked on the pavement along Spruce.
Snake Road from Old York Road to the City Limit
The city will spend $4,986,000 to renew Snake Road in 2026. The project includes paved shoulders. Bike lanes are not mentioned in the budget.
Blair Road and Landmark Road
The city will spend $3,128,000 to renew these roads in 2026. Quoting the budget, “New sidewalks have been identified on one or more roads being renewed in this capital project “.
Design work will be completed in 2026 for the following roads.
The next table, from page 470 of the budget, shows us how the roadways budget will be funded. This article lists roadway improvements; the roadway’s budget includes other projects.
Capital Levy – $22,825,000 – money coming from the operating budget. This includes property tax dollars and funds from other levels of government.
Development Charge Reserve Funds – $14,000,000 – money from people who purchased newly constructed homes in Burlington.
Capital Reserve Funds – $7,623,000 – money set aside over many years because the city knows the roads need to be renewed over time, and prudent financial management dictates setting aside money for the renewal.
Debt – $6,150,000 – the city is borrowing a total of $10 million to cover expenses in 2026.
External – $746,000 – while not stipulated, this might be another level of government or gas tax funds.
The city is spending a lot of money on roads, but sadly, traffic conditions will only worsen. Road widening is controversial, but with continued densification, should widening major arteries be considered?
Renewing major arteries without road widening, bus laybys, or adding dedicated transit lanes may mean a future council will use tax dollars to pay for construction projects on the same roads long before the roads themselves, or the infrastructure under them, need replacement.
What do you think?
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