Bill 70 explained in plain English

Bill 70 amends Ontario's Metrolinx Act and Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act to require bike share integration, mandate affordable housing in Metrolinx developments, establish maintenance standards for three northern highways, and create a plan to modify those highways into a 2+1 configuration.

Bill 70 makes four main changes to Ontario transportation law: 1. **Bike share integration**: It adds a requirement that Metrolinx (the regional transit agency) must work to integrate municipal bike share systems with other transit routes, fares, and schedules. 2. **Affordable housing in Metrolinx developments**: When Metrolinx or its subsidiaries sell or give away property to build residential units, at least 20 per cent of those units must be affordable housing (defined in the Development Charges Act, 1997). 3. **Maintenance standards for three highways**: The bill requires the Minister of Transportation to maintain Highways 11, 17, and 69 (including two-lane sections) according to specific standards: - Snow removal: highways must be bare of snow within 4 hours after snowfall ends - Ice clearing: ice must be cleared within 3 hours after it forms - Pothole repair: potholes larger than 600 square centimetres and deeper than 8 centimetres must be repaired within 4 days 4. **Highway upgrade plan**: The bill requires the Minister to develop a plan within 12 months to convert Highways 11, 17, and 69 into a "2+1 configuration" (a three-lane highway with a passing lane that changes direction every 2–5 kilometres). The plan must be developed with local community input, and construction must start one year after the plan is published and be completed within five years. The Minister must publish annual progress reports. The bill comes into force when it receives Royal Assent (the Governor's approval).