Hundreds of cycling advocates filled the streets of downtown Toronto on Friday night as part of a ride organized in response to a recent court ruling allowing the Ford government to move forward with its plan to rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue.
Earlier this month, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled unanimously in favour of overturning a previous lower-court decision, which said the removal of the lanes would increase the risk of serious injury or death for cyclists. The Court of Appeal said the previous judgment had effectively created a right to bike lanes where none existed and the justices added that the lower court judge had not only misapplied the law but strayed into policy-making and political considerations.
Internal documents revealed in court found that removing bike lanes would not achieve the goal of the law, to reduce congestion, and that it could increase collisions by 54 per cent for all road users.
One of the organizer’s of Friday’s rally acknowledged that the ruling has upset many people.
“We got a pretty scathing decision from the Court of Appeal of Ontario that said Doug Ford can rip out existing bike lanes, that our safety doesn’t matter, and people take that really personally,” said David Shellnut, the founding partner of The Biking Lawyer LLC. “They’re just trying to get home safe, take their kids to school, so I can expect a lot of people to be up in arms about that.”
The cyclists took their protest east along the Danforth, eventually making their way to Coun. Brad Bradford’s office, who in 2023 was one of 21 councillors who voted in favour of adding bike lanes along a stretch of Bloor Street West in Etobicoke, but has since reversed his stance.
“When I’m the mayor of Toronto, the bike lanes on Bloor Street West … they’re coming out, and the vehicle lanes are going back in,” he said following the court ruling, adding he would work on redirecting the city’s cycling investment into a network of residential streets and multi-use trails in parks, hydro corridors and ravines.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has said she would continue to push for win-win solutions, such as restoring a lane of traffic on Bloor Street, while keeping bike lanes active in the area.
“We’ve also got a mayoral election going on and you’ve got a once pro-bike councillor running for mayor on an anti-bike platform. So there’s that mix of provincial and municipal that really have people engaged,” said Shellnut.
Others who showed up in support of the rally say this is more than just protecting their daily commute, adding they want to know what Toronto streets will look like going forward.
“We’ve been fighting for these lanes for more than 15 years …Now, if they get ripped out, all of our work is going to go down the drain,” said Joey Schwartz, one those who attended the rally. “One of the biggest issues for me is the safety of fellow cyclists. Not everyone is a trained cyclist like myself. I’m a courier and cycling instructor. Right now, what we’re seeing that these lanes have done is it’s increased cycling …and if these lanes get ripped out, we’re going to lose those people.”
While the province says the legislation is about easing congestion, cyclists say its all about safety and they will continue making their voices heard, one ride at a time.