{"id":105554,"date":"2025-07-30T19:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T19:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105554\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T19:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T19:08:14","slug":"ford-government-to-appeal-court-ruling-which-deemed-bike-lane-removal-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105554\/","title":{"rendered":"Ford government to appeal court ruling which deemed bike lane removal unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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On Wednesday afternoon, a government spokesperson confirmed they would be appealing the ruling \u2014 handed down earlier in the day \u2014 which said removing bike lanes from Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue would \u201cbreach\u201d the Charter.<\/p>\n

In his ruling, Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas said the province\u2019s move to take out bike lanes would be \u201cinconsistent\u201d with the constitutional protection of life, liberty and security.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny steps taken to \u2018reconfigure\u2019 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,\u201d\u00a0the ruling said.<\/p>\n

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The Ministry of Transportation said the Ford government would appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d they said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo deliver on that mandate, we will be appealing the court\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tMonths of bike lane battles\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Bloor Street West, Yonge Street and University Avenue.<\/p>\n

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In an earlier injunction ruling<\/a>, Justice Schabas cited the public interest in protecting cyclist safety and a lack of evidence backing the government\u2019s claim that removing the lanes would reduce congestion.<\/p>\n

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The original legislation \u2014 Bill 212 \u2014 was fast-tracked through the Ontario legislature in late 2024.<\/p>\n

It gave the province the power to assess cities\u2019 plans to install bike lanes moving forward and review infrastructure that had been added in the past half-decade.<\/p>\n

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