Originally published in, Municipal World.
As the number of cyclists increases, what must municipalities do
to keep them safe?
Municipalities have a statutory duty to maintain their roads in
a proper state of repair (see, for example, s. 44 of Ontario's
Municipal Act), and a common law duty
to warn the road users of hazards. A condition of non-repair can
involve "any aspect of the road and its environs",
including "not only the surface of the road but also the
alignment of the road, obstacles on the side of the road and
signage" (Mero v. Waterloo (Regional Municipality)
(1992), 7 O.R. (3d) 102 ).Several courts have found that the
reasonable state of repair required for cyclists may be different
from that required for cars.
