Latest news with #cyclingadvocacy
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Court dismisses Ontario's bid to appeal bike lane injunction
A cyclist rides in a bike lane on University Avenue in Toronto on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Laura Proctor TORONTO — An Ontario court has dismissed the province's attempt to appeal a court order that temporarily stopped it from ripping up three major Toronto bike lanes. Cycling advocates say the court's decision is a victory, and means Ontario can't remove the bike lanes until a judge has had the chance to rule on a Charter challenge. A spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria suggested that some work, however, will go on. "We will continue with the design work necessary to begin removals of bike lanes and get some of our busiest roads moving, as soon as possible," Dakota Brasier wrote in a statement. "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." Cycle Toronto, the group leading the challenge, argues the law that enables the government to remove the bike lanes is arbitrary and puts lives at risk. Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the government this spring to keep its hands off the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes until he decides whether the law is unconstitutional. His injunction ruling cited the public interest in protecting cyclist safety and a lack of evidence backing the government's claim that removing the lanes would reduce congestion. The government asked the court for permission to appeal that injunction decision, but a three-judge Divisional Court panel dismissed the motion for leave to appeal in a ruling dated Tuesday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
CBC
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Court rejects Ford government's appeal of injunction stopping it from removing bike lanes
An Ontario court has dismissed the province's attempt to appeal a court order that temporarily stopped it from ripping up three major Toronto bike lanes. Cycling advocates say the court's decision is a victory, and means Ontario can't remove the bike lanes until a judge has had the chance to rule on a Charter challenge. Cycle Toronto, the group leading the challenge, argues the law that enables the government to remove the bike lanes is arbitrary and puts lives at risk. Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the government this spring to keep its hands off the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes until he decides whether the law is unconstitutional. His injunction ruling cited the public interest in protecting cyclist safety and a lack of evidence backing the government's claim that removing the lanes would reduce congestion. The government asked the court for permission to appeal that injunction decision, but a three-judge Divisional Court panel dismissed the motion for leave to appeal in a ruling dated Tuesday
CBS News
17-06-2025
- CBS News
Cycling advocates want bike lanes on Maryland's rebuilt Chesapeake Bay Bridge
A coalition of organizations has petitioned to add shared-use bike paths to the redesigned Chesapeake Bay Bridge. In a letter, a coalition of more than 50 cycling, transportation, and conservation groups requested that separated bicycling and pedestrian facilities be included in the new bridge design. The coalition comprises national organizations, such as the League of American Bicyclists, and local groups, including Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. Why do the advocates want bike paths on the bridge? The coalition of cycling advocates argues that the bike paths would create the first commuting option for cyclists traveling between the Eastern and Western shores and reduce traffic congestion. The group also argues that it would create opportunities for recreational activities on the bridge. "We envision many other recreational activities that a shared-use path would provide, such as bird-watching, photography, strolling, jogging, and running. The path would offer safe access to exercise, recreation, and the natural maritime viewscape," the letter reads. Adding exercise to daily commuting will benefit communities by increasing property values, reducing healthcare costs, and increasing tourism and commercial revenues, the coalition argues. Chesapeake Bay Bridge rebuild project Last year, Maryland transportation officials said the current two Chesapeake Bay Bridge structures weren't enough to handle existing and future traffic demands to cross the bay, the Baltimore Banner reported. In Nov. 2024, the MDTA said it was still in the second stage of an environmental review process to determine the potential impacts of a new bridge on the surrounding area. According to the National Bridge Inventory, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is in "fair" condition and will reach the end of its "useful lifespan" in the decades to come. Bike lanes controversial in Baltimore City While locations vary, the debate surrounding bike lanes seems to revolve around whether adding the lanes is better or worse for traffic congestion. Last year, Baltimore City Council member Sharon Green Middleton raised a resolution to look into the city's bike infrastructure after residents complained about the city's Complete Streets ordinance. The Complete Streets ordinance is a city law that aims to improve safety by making streets more accessible to pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit users. In 2017 the Baltimore Department of Transportation announced that it planned to install 77 miles of separated bike lanes within five years. In 2023, residents in Northwest Baltimore expressed concern about bike lanes being added to Gwynn Falls Parkway, arguing that the lanes would remove space from an already narrow road.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Hundreds attend rally outside Halifax City Hall over bike lane motion
Hundreds of cycling advocates gathered in Halifax Tuesday morning over a motion the mayor plans to table about bike lanes.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Chow, Ford strike collaborative tone on future of Toronto bike lanes
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appear to have found middle ground on the future of bike lanes in the city as the province looks to rip up 19 kilometres of cycling infrastructure on three major roads. Chow said Friday that city staff have identified areas where car lanes can be restored while keeping bike lanes intact and that her team is currently looking at technical drawings to determine their feasibility. 'So, I think that's a solution that can be arrived at through collaboration, which is what we're doing right now,' Chow said after joking that she and Ford rode a tandem bicycle to Friday's unrelated news. Ford's government passed legislation last year to remove sections of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue. The legislation also requires that municipalities ask the province for permission to install a bike lane if a lane for cars would be removed. In April, lawyers for a cycling advocacy group challenging the removal of those bike lanes were granted an injunction, which paused the provincial plans until a judge decides on the constitutionality of the case. The Ontario government is appealing that decision. Ford lashed out at what he called 'bleeding heart judges' following the injunction being granted and suggested that Ontario should elect their judges, like they do in the U.S. However, he struck a more agreeable tone on Friday. 'I want to work collaboratively with the mayor, and when it comes to the bike lanes, we had a clear mandate in the last election, but the fact is, we're talking about three bike lanes, and hopefully we can find alternatives and work with the mayor and with the city staff. That's what we want to do,' Ford said, adding that he doesn't 'hate bike riders or bike lanes.' Ford said while the conversations about bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University are ongoing, '98 per cent' of the city's other bike lanes would be 'left alone.' It's unclear which areas along those three major streets have been identified as viable options to reintroduce a car lane, but a source familiar with the plan told The Canadian Press in April that it includes returning two car lanes to University Avenue near the city's hospital row, and narrowing the bike lanes and removing on-street parking. The province didn't reject the idea and said it was 'open' to the idea, so long as the city funds their portion of 'their identified infrastructure needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
