A judge has ordered the Ford government to suspend any imminent bike lane removal plans until he has decided if their removal violates the Charter rights of cyclists in Toronto.
On Tuesday, Justice Paul Schabas granted an injunction requested by the advocacy group Cycle Toronto to protect bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue — portions of which had been slated for removal.
The decision said not granting an injunction ran the risk of the government removing bike lanes before the courts could decide if the law enabling it to do so was constitutional.
Cyclists who brought the challenge argued that removing bike lanes would put their lives at risk and increase deaths on Toronto’s roads.
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The group argued that the decision to remove the bike-specific bike lanes was made arbitrarily and wouldn’t help reduce congestion.
The government said during the court process that removing bike lanes would not violate the constitution and would improve gridlock in downtown Toronto.
A spokesperson for the Minister of Transportation said the government would comply with the court’s decision.
“We were elected with a clear mandate to get people out of traffic by restoring driving lanes to keep some of our busiest roads moving,” they said.
“We will continue with the design work necessary to begin removals as soon as possible, should the decision uphold the legislation.”
The legal challenge stems from a law the Ford government passed last year, which made cities prove that new bike lanes that reduce the number of vehicle lanes on a road would not increase congestion.
The law required cities and towns to get provincial approval before removing a traffic lane to add a new bike lane. To receive approval, they had to show that the change would not make congestion worse.
The legislation also allowed the government to remove bike lanes from Bloor, Yonge and University in Toronto and put in place reviews of all new lanes added in the past five years.
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