Ford government to appeal court ruling which deemed bike lane removal unconstitutional

The Ford government says it will appeal a court ruling which found its plan to tear out dedicated bike lanes in Toronto is unconstitutional.

On Wednesday afternoon, a government spokesperson confirmed they would be appealing the ruling — handed down earlier in the day — which said removing bike lanes from Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue would “breach” the Charter.

In his ruling, Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas said the province’s move to take out bike lanes would be “inconsistent” with the constitutional protection of life, liberty and security.

The ruling said an updated version of the law, passed in June and requiring bike lane reconfiguration instead of removal, would also breach the charter.

“Any steps taken to ‘reconfigure’ the target bike lanes that removes their protected character for the purpose of installing a lane for motor vehicles in order to reduce congestion, would be in breach of s. 7 of the Charter,” the ruling said.

The Ministry of Transportation said the Ford government would appeal.

“We were elected by the people of Ontario with a clear mandate to restore lanes of traffic and get drivers moving by moving bike lanes off of major roads to secondary roads,” they said in a statement.

“To deliver on that mandate, we will be appealing the court’s decision.”

The ruling comes after months of legal wrangling and a court-imposed injunction that has, so far, prevented the province from following through on its promise to remove bike lanes from Toronto’s Bloor Street West, Yonge Street and University Avenue.

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In an earlier injunction ruling, Justice Schabas 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 original legislation — Bill 212 — was fast-tracked through the Ontario legislature in late 2024.

It gave the province the power to assess cities’ plans to install bike lanes moving forward and review infrastructure that had been added in the past half-decade.

It allowed Ontario to reverse the installation of bike lanes, specifically three major streets in Toronto.

A cyclists’ advocacy group immediately launched a Charter challenge, claiming the law was “ill-conceived and arbitrary” and would result in an increased number of injuries and deaths.

“This reckless legislative act infringes the rights of people who ride bikes, other road users, and/or pedestrians in the City of Toronto under s. 7 of the Charter by depriving them of life and security of the person contrary to principles of fundamental justice,” the court application, filed by CycleTO, claimed.

Ford has long pointed to “nasty, terrible” bike lanes as one of the sources of traffic congestion and has advocated for separated routes to be moved to secondary routes instead of arterial roads.

He has insisted he is not opposed to the infrastructure but believes it should not be added to major routes.

The Ford government’s 2025 budget included the removal of additional lanes on Avenue Road, effectively replacing the law passed at the end of 2024.

The revised law changed Ontario’s language from requiring the “removal” of specific bike lanes to “reconfiguring” them so an extra lane of traffic could be added back in.

In its court application, CycleTO claimed secondary roads “do not exist,” that there was “no rational connection” between the government’s gridlock-reducing intent and potential effect, and suggested that the government is aware of the potential harms.

In his ruling, Schabas said CycleTo had successfully argued that removing bike lanes would “put people at increased risk of harm and death” when they ride in the city.

“The evidence is clear that restoring a lane of motor vehicle traffic, where it will involve the removal of the protected, or separated, nature of the target bike lanes, will create greater risk to cyclists and to other users of the roads,” part of the ruling said.

It also said removing bike lanes would not help reduce congestion.

“The evidence shows that restoring lanes for cars will not result in less congestion, as it will induce more people to use cars and therefore any reduction in driving time will be short-lived, if at all, and will lead to more congestion,” the ruling said. “This makes the law arbitrary.”

It said the points offered by the government were “weak anecdotal evidence and expert opinion which is unsupported, unpersuasive and contrary to the consensus view.”

The ruling does not affect the parts of the law which require provincial approval for new bike lanes, which will remain in place.

In a statement, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s office said she believed decisions about the locations of bike lanes should be made by local, not provincial, officials.

“Mayor Chow maintains that the City of Toronto and its elected council should be the ones making decisions about municipal infrastructure,” they wrote.

“Toronto City Council has voted to formally oppose the province’s plans to override the City’s authority and remove the lanes.”

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