Court challenge launched against Ontario bike lane removal legislation
Group of cyclists claim new law infringes on Charter rights to life and security for bike riders in Toronto
A cycling advocacy group is leading a court challenge against recently passed legislation that gives the Ontario government sweeping control over the installation and removal of municipal bike lanes, arguing the law deprives Toronto cyclists of their Charter rights to life and security.
The challenge of the newly passed Bill 212 seeks an injunction to prevent the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street, which the Ford government has claimed are adding to congestion and response times for emergency vehicles.
The lawsuit was launched Tuesday by Cycle Toronto and two individuals who say they cycle regularly in Toronto — Eva Stanger-Ross and Narada Kiondo — in a notice of application to Ontario's Superior Court of Justice.
"Evidence shows that separated bike lanes, like those on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street, are safest for cyclists and have little effect on vehicle traffic," the group said in a release Wednesday.
Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, said in the release that the province isn't acting in the best interest of the public by removing lanes.
"It is not about tackling congestion, working with municipalities for data driven solutions or giving people more transportation options," he said.
"It is unprecedented jurisdictional overreach undermining local democracy that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars and jeopardize the safety of cyclists."
A city report in November estimated the cost of removing the targeted bike lanes in Toronto at $48 million.
CBC Toronto reached out to the office of Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, who introduced the bill, for comment on the court challenge.
In an email Wednesday evening, spokesperson Dakota Brasier said traffic congestion is costing Ontario's economy billions of dollars a year and the province "can't let activists who represent less than one per cent of the population force families to sit in traffic any longer."
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.
Data from the 2021 Statistics Canada census suggests the number of people commuting on bicycles in areas of Toronto where bike lanes are located is far above one per cent, with the exception of the federal riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, where the debate over the Bloor bike lane has been arguably most intense.
Longfield doored while cycling, misses news conference
Longfield was supposed to announce the court challenge at Queen's Park, Cycle Toronto Chair Dana O'Born told reporters at the news conference Wednesday, but he was injured while cycling in Toronto Monday. He was hit by a car door while riding in a painted bike lane on St. George Street, she said, and is now in hospital recovering from surgery.
"His injury would likely not have happened if the lane was separated by a protective barrier rather than just paint," O'Born said.
The legislation was fast-tracked last month, drawing criticism and protests from cyclists and advocates who say they rely on bike lanes to get around the city safely.
That includes Stanger-Ross, one of the two individuals named in the court challenge, who says she cycles 10 kilometres to and from her University of Toronto classes every school day. She says she and other students rely on the Bloor Street bike lanes to get to campus, saying it's the easiest, most affordable way to get around.
"There is no other option for many students," she said at Wednesday's news conference. "Removing these bike lanes will not remove bikers from the road, it will just put them in harm's way."
Bronwyn Roe, a lawyer with Ecojustice who is representing the challengers along with lawyers from Paliare Roland LLP, said in the release that studies show bike lanes save lives.
"Bill 212 is an arbitrary and dangerous piece of legislation that violates the section 7 Charter-protected rights," she said.
"Removing [bike lanes], without replacement routes in place and with no evidence that doing so will address traffic concerns, locks in irresponsible car dependence and is not in the best interest of communities," she said.
The legislation also includes an amendment that prevents any lawsuits from being filed against the province should a cyclist be injured or killed on roads where bike lanes were removed, something the group calls "a tacit acknowledgement of the safety risk the government is creating."
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