Doug Ford has hit another roadblock in his battle against bike lanes
Is the premier just spinning his wheels?
Toronto cyclists scored a victory this week, when the province’s Superior Court of Justice dismissed the Ford government’s appeal of the injunction temporarily blocking it from ripping up bike lanes. At this point, trying to keep up with the saga has been as exhausting as a Tour de France stage, so let’s refresh.
Doug Ford is no fan of bike lanes writ large, but this ongoing legal drama centres the ones on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue. Earlier this year, Ford campaigned on the notion that this supposedly leftist infrastructure on major arteries was causing the city’s Tom-Cruise-complaint-worthy traffic woes.
Related: How the Bloor Street bike lane turned Toronto into a battlefield
Last November, the province introduced Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, which gave the government the power to overrule municipalities and remove bike lanes on major roads. And it would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for the pesky activists at Cycle Toronto.
In December, the group filed a Charter challenge against Bill 212, arguing that the removal of the bike lanes in question puts cyclists’ lives at risk and therefore goes against Section 7 of the Charter, which guarantees “life, liberty and security of person.” Key to their argument is research showing that bike lanes do not actually cause gridlock. Instead, as advocates argue, they do actually keep cyclists safe.
Related: How bike lanes became a scapegoat for all of Toronto’s traffic angst
It’s a landmark case involving complex legal considerations and balances of interests, which is why Justice Paul Schabas granted the temporary injunction in April. Ford has accused him of being a radical lefty ideologue, but really Schabas is just saying, This is important, and I need some time to do my job right. Now, based on Tuesday’s ruling, he will get that time.
In the meantime, Ford will have to back down. His most recent comment on the matter—“I don’t hate bike lanes”—even suggests he may be softening and more willing to compromise. It’s almost like his eyes are on a bigger prize.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
