Ford wins appeal in Toronto bike lanes court battle

Doug Ford’s PC government has secured a major victory in the ongoing saga related to bike lanes in downtown Toronto.

On Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled unanimously, 3-0, in favour of overturning a previous lower-court decision which found that the plan created an unconstitutional risk to cyclist safety.

In a strongly worded ruling, the three judge panel found the previous judgment had effectively created a right to bike lanes where none existed. The lower court judge had not only misapplied the law but strayed into policy-making and political considerations, the ruling said.

“Something has gone wrong,” Justice Grant Huscroft wrote.

Governments were free to change or repeal policy choices made by their predecessors, the ruling said, even if it went against expert advice.

“Policy is for politics. Whether courts think legislation is wise or unwise is irrelevant so far as its constitutionality is concerned, and constitutionality is the only question with which courts are legitimately concerned,” it said.

For well over a year, the Ford government has been mulling a decision to rip out nearly 20 kilometres of protected bike lanes that stretch across Yonge Street, Bloor Street and University Avenue, but an ongoing court battle has delayed the plan.

“Today’s court ruling is a victory for common sense and for respecting the appropriate division of roles between duly elected legislatures and the courts,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria wrote in a statement to CityNews on Friday.

“Our government received a mandate from the people to tackle the traffic and gridlock costing Ontario’s economy more than $56 billion every year,” he added. “We’ve always been clear: bike lanes should go where they make sense, on secondary roads, not at the expense of vehicle lanes on our busiest streets.”

Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says her office will continue to push for win-win solutions like restoring a lane of traffic on Bloor Street West in Etobicoke, while keeping bike lanes active in the area.

“Since the province announced its intentions, Mayor Chow has been working with them to find win-win solutions that restores car lanes while maintaining safe cycling infrastructure,” her press secretary, Braman Thillainathan, wrote in a statement to CityNews. “[Chow] resists any argument that pits road users against each other because it makes everyone less safe.”

“The Mayor will keep working to get traffic moving through actions like hiring more traffic agents and investing in transit, while ensuring all road users are safe, whether they are walking, biking or driving,” Thillainathan added.

Advocates call the ruling an ‘unfortunate setback’

Despite the latest court ruling, cycling advocates vow to continue fighting to protect Toronto’s bike lanes.

“The facts on the ground have not changed. Removing protected bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue, and Yonge Street puts people at risk, and the Ford government’s own internal documents confirm it,” Venetia Jones, a spokesperson for the group EcoJustice, wrote in a statement.

Internal documents that were revealed in court earlier this year, found that the removal of bike lanes in downtown Toronto could increase collisions by 54 per cent for all road uses and would be unlikely to reduce congestion.

Advocates gathered at the court house on Friday shortly after the decision was made public.

“We’re disappointed, but this ruling does nothing to dispute the facts of the case and the government’s own experts,” Michael Longfield, executive director of the advocacy group Cycle Toronto, told reporters.

“Bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion,” he added. “Ripping them out will put people’s lives at risk.”

“It’s magical thinking to think there is a mythical network of side streets and trails that will replace the protected bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University,” he explained. “I urge Premier Ford to abandon this scheme and resume working collaboratively with your partners at the City of Toronto and other municipalities.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report