Cycling advocates are aiming to disrupt Doug Ford’s bike lane removal law and delay work to rip out the infrastructure until a broader case against the legislation can be heard in mid-April.
Cycle Toronto is saying Bill 212, The Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, infringes on Charter rights and should be thrown out by a court. It became law on Nov. 25, 2024.
The group’s argument, however, won’t be heard until April 16 and its members fear the Ford government will forge ahead with its plans to remove bike lanes before the arguments are heard.
If granted, an injunction would temporarily stop the province from tearing bike lanes out on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street.
“I don’t think there’s any urgency at all that the province needs to start this removal process,” said Michael Longfield, Cycle Toronto’s executive director.
“We’re on University Avenue and there are already people using these bike lanes today, so removing them before we’ve had our day in court, frankly, will cause real harm to people.”
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Longfield is currently recovering from a broken femur after being hit by a car door while he was cycling in a painted bike lane. He’s convinced if the lane had the same protections installed to separate cyclists from cars, like those the province intends to remove, he wouldn’t have been injured.
With attention focused on trade disputes, the provincial government has been quiet on the matter since it was re-elected late last month. But in his victory speech after winning a third term as premier on Feb. 27, Premier Doug Ford made a point of mentioning his intention “to bring sanity back to bike lanes.”
Under Bill 212, provincial approval will be required to install new bike lanes in any Ontario municipality and new separated lanes would be prohibited if infrastructure interferes with existing vehicle traffic.
Ontario has promised to reimburse cities for the cost of removing existing infrastructure, but Ford has balked at the estimates the city has provided, insisting they’re far too high.
At a press conference Tuesday, Mayor Olivia Chow declined to weigh in on the legal challenge to Bill 212, saying she is still hoping to reach a compromise with the province to keep the bike lanes.
Superior Court Justice Stephen Firestone has yet to rule on whether he will grant the injunction after arguments were heard throughout Tuesday. His decision is expected sometime in the coming days.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Transportation declined to comment on the matter while it’s before the courts.
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