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CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Bike advocates rejoice at latest roadblock to Ford government's attempt to uproot Toronto bike lanes
Social Sharing Cyclists and advocates in Toronto are celebrating a roadblock to Ontario Premier Doug Ford's attempt to uproot three of the city's major bike lanes. On Tuesday, an Ontario court dismissed the province's appeal of a temporary court order that's stopped it from removing the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes while a legal challenge is before the courts. The province is pushing for the removals as a solution to Toronto's traffic buildup. While work has been halted for now, the government says it will continue design work necessary to begin bike lane removals. But cyclists and advocates say bike lanes are crucial for public safety and won't solve traffic concerns if removed. "It's easy to sort of look at bike lanes and … paint them as an easy target for traffic," said Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, the group leading the Charter challenge. "When you actually look at the data, bike lanes aren't responsible for traffic or congestion. In fact, they give people more transportation options. They make it safer for more people to choose to move around." Watch | Premier vents after court-ordered injunction halts bike lane removals: Ford rants against 'bleeding-hearts judges' that go against province's mandate 2 months ago Duration 1:59 In its challenge, the group argues the law that enables the government to remove the bike lanes is arbitrary and puts lives at risk. The latest court decision blocks the province from any removal action until a judge rules on whether the law is unconstitutional. Longfield says the bike lanes were installed "for good reason," after hundreds of hours of analysis, planning and consultation through multiple city councils and mayors. Lane removal wrong solution to traffic problem: cyclists He, and other cyclists, agree that the removal could put peoples' lives at risk. Shervan Vafa, who was cycling by Queen's Park on Thursday, says some of his friends have gotten into serious accidents on roads without bike lanes. "[The province] is trying to solve the problem with the wrong solutions," he said. "I don't [cycle] on any other roads without a bike lane … I'm always conscious and try to stay on the bike lanes that are actually protected." Angelique Moss, a cyclist of 10 years from Etobicoke, says bike lane removals would be a "waste of taxpayer dollars," and she is glad to see Ford lose the appeal. "[Biking in Toronto] used to be a nightmare. I would never take Bloor and now I can take Bloor. It connects the city. It's wonderful," she said. Province still planning to remove lanes In a statement to The Canadian Press, a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said design work for the removal will continue and that bike lanes will remain in place for now. "While we respect the court's decision, our government was elected with a clear mandate to get people out of traffic by restoring driving lanes," Dakota Brasier wrote in the statement. Longfield hopes the province will instead look to collaboration with municipalities to find other traffic solutions and accelerate transit projects. "I think if the premier and the minister were spending as much time as they were obsessing about bike lanes on making sure, say, the Eglinton-Crosstown [LRT] opens on time, that would be a much better thing to help people."
National Observer
7 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Ontario court halts Ford's plan to tear out Toronto bike lanes
Protected bike lanes in Toronto must remain in place for now, an Ontario judge said on Tuesday. The Ford government had appealed a previous ruling that ordered the bike lanes to remain, but failed. A superior court judge said the bike lanes can't be removed until an ongoing Charter challenge is resolved. The challenge, brought by Cycle Toronto and two individual applicants, targets the Ford government's anti-bike lane legislation, Bill 212 — the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act — and argues that removing the lanes violates Charter rights to life and security of the person, and puts cyclists' lives at risk. The bill grants the Ford government unilateral authority to remove municipal bike lanes. One of the provisions requires the provincial transportation minister to remove bike lanes on the three major Toronto streets. The government claims the change will alleviate traffic congestion and improve emergency response times, but no evidence has been provided to support this; meanwhile, opponents introduced government reports into evidence that suggested the bike lane removals could cause a rise in collisions without even saving any commuting time. In April, an Ontario superior court judge granted a temporary injunction to prevent the government from removing the bike lanes while the case is being considered. In May, the Ford government sought leave to appeal the injunction. But in Tuesday's decision, the court rejected the request and upheld the injunction. Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, told Canada's National Observer that the court's decision to reject the Ford government's appeal is a strong signal the case is being taken seriously. 'We're obviously very pleased about this decision,' Longfield said. 'With this legal decision, I think it's a good opportunity for the province to sort of abandon this bad faith culture war and instead collaborate with municipalities on real, data-driven solutions to give people more transportation options.' A superior court judge said the bike lanes can't be removed until an ongoing Charter challenge is resolved. Dakota Brasier, director of media relations for Ontario's transportation minister, said the government will continue with the design work needed to begin removing bike lanes and get some of the province's 'busiest roads moving as soon as possible.' 'While we respect the court's decision, our government was elected with a clear mandate to get people out of traffic by restoring driving lanes,' Brasier said. Bronwyn Roe, a lawyer at Ecojustice representing the applicants, welcomed the court's decision and said the evidence clearly shows that removing heavily used, protected bike lanes on major Toronto routes would put cyclists' lives at risk. 'The government cannot be allowed to jeopardize the safety of Ontarians or violate the Charter-protected rights to life and security of the person,' Roe said in a statement. Looking ahead, Longfield stressed the importance of a full court victory, saying it could help set a precedent for how cycling infrastructure is protected in the future. At the same time, he believed there was still time for the province to reconsider whether the legislation was truly in the public interest. The City of Toronto estimates the cost to taxpayers for removing the bike lanes could reach $48 million, with the city having already invested $27 million in their construction. Restoring vehicle lanes will likely offer minimal improvements in travel time and undermine the public health, environmental and economic benefits of active transportation, the report warns. Bike Share Toronto has experienced impressive growth, with memberships doubling from 18,000 in 2020 to more than 35,000 in 2023, the report notes. Total trips by bike share surged from 2.9 million in 2020 to 5.7 million in 2023.
CBC
11-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Cyclists seek injunction as Ontario bike lane removal work could start this month
Social Sharing Ontario won't begin removing bike lanes in Toronto until March 20 at the earliest — but a group of cyclists is applying for an injunction to prevent the work until their legal challenge against the plan has its day in court. The group, led by Cycle Toronto, launched a legal challenge against the province's plan to remove bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in Toronto. The challenge will be heard in April, but the group wants to ensure that infrastructure isn't removed between late March and the April hearing. A hearing for the injunction that could do that is happening Tuesday at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in downtown Toronto. The group's lawyers say lawyers from the province informed them no steps to remove the bike lanes would come before March 20, something a spokesperson for the ministry of transportation confirmed. The March 20 date was first reported in The Trillium. "This won't help address traffic, and we know it'll make our roads more dangerous for people and make it so that fewer people will choose to ride a bike," said Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto. The province fast-tracked Bill 212 in the fall, arguing that the bike lane removals are needed to reduce congestion in Toronto. Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the city's approach to installing bike lanes was "failed" and described the bike lane removal as "freeing up some of Toronto's most important roads," in a January news release. WATCH | Do only 1.2%of Torontonians really commute by bike? StatsCan data says no: Do only 1.2% of Torontonians really commute by bike? StatsCan data says no 4 months ago Duration 2:54 Research from cities around the world suggests that adding bike lanes to streets doesn't actually add to congestion, though adding more roads for motor vehicles does. Bruce Ryder, a professor at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, said the applicants have a strong case for an interim injunction on the grounds of the initial application's argument that people's safety could be put at risk. "The balance of convenience in terms of the status quo favours them," said Ryder, who's not involved in the challenge. "In other words, it's better to leave the bike lanes in place for the time being until the case is fully argued," he said. Full legal challenge to be heard in April The legal challenge that will be heard in April states that the government's reasoning for removing bike lanes is arbitrary, alleging Premier Doug Ford and Minister Sarkaria have not shown evidence to support their characterizations of the lanes. It also argues the removal is a violation of section seven of the Charter and Rights of Freedoms, saying the removal deprives cyclists of life and security of the person. The city has said ripping up the lanes would cost about $48 million — a figure Ford has publicly disputed — while increasing driver travel time during construction and having a minimal impact once completed. Sarkaria has frequently said 1.2 per cent of people in Toronto commute by bike, though census data shows that number is higher in several areas where bike lanes actually exist. Though in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, where the debate around bike lanes has been perhaps most intense, statistics line up with Sarkaria's messaging. "Removing these bike lanes makes sense for our community and it cannot be done soon enough," the area's former MPP Christine Hogarth said in a January news release. Hogarth was defeated by Liberal Lee Fairclough in the February election. Legal experts say challenge has merits When it comes to the legal challenge that will be heard in earnest in April, some in the legal field feel Cycle Toronto's arguments have merits. David Schneiderman, a professor of law at the University of Toronto who's not involved in the legal challenge, said the challenge's argument has some merits when it comes to the argument that the decision to remove bike lanes is not being done with sufficient evidence that it will reduce congestion. WATCH | Toronto's mayor critical of bike lane removal: Mayor Chow calls Ontario's plan to remove bike lanes 'arbitrary' 4 months ago Duration 1:26 The Ontario government is planning to remove three sections of bike lanes in Toronto. At a news conference on Friday, Mayor Olivia Chow emphasized there have been several studies done in recent years that support the existing bike lanes. "That would be of interest to a judge, and a judge would say, 'show me the money,'" Schneiderman said. "[Courts] don't like governments behaving arbitrarily without any evidence just because they don't like something or someone." Ryder, from Osgoode Hall, said while the interim injunction has a good chance, the hearing for the challenge itself will be more difficult. "It will be the claimant's burden to establish that the government is putting their lives at risk. And it will also be the claimant's burden to establish that they're not doing so for a good reason or a sufficiently strong reason," he said.
