Lawyers for the non-profit behind a lawsuit that aims to stop the Doug Ford government from removing Toronto bike lanes will seek an injunction on March 11, requesting a judge block any removals from taking place until the full case can be heard.
In December, Cycle Toronto and two other plaintiffs launched a Charter challenge against the Progressive Conservative government’s Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act.
The bill directs Premier Doug Ford’s transportation minister to remove portions of the bike lanes along Yonge Street, Bloor Street and University Avenue.
Doing so would violate the Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person, Cycle Toronto’s lawsuit alleges.
Ford has said the bill is intended to speed up drivers’ commute times. However, scholarly evidence — including some prepared for Ford’s cabinet — has shown bike lanes usually have a negligible or positive impact on vehicle traffic times.
Cycle Toronto’s hearing on the Charter challenge is scheduled for April 16.
In response to the injunction filing, a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the government needs to move ahead with its plan.
“Gridlock is at an all-time high and we need to deliver on our plan to keep people moving by bringing sanity back to bike lanes and building new roads, highways and transit. We can’t let activists who represent less than one per cent of the population force families to sit in traffic any longer.”
Judge warned injunction request was likely unless province committed to hold off on removals
The province has not yet said when it will start removing bike lanes — or which portions of the lanes it intends to remove.
On Jan. 8, Justice Markus Koehnen asked the government to commit to not removing the bike lanes until Cycle Toronto had its day in court, according to legal filings.
Waiting until after the April hearing would avoid Cycle Toronto forcing the court to consider an injunction, Koehnen said, which would be a reprieve for the “already significantly overburdened” justice system, per the filings.
Koehnen also said the additional delay wouldn’t “prejudice any public interest in any material way given that the bicycle lanes have been in place for several years.”
On Jan. 10, the government refused to extend the deadline.
“Accordingly, the applicants have been forced to move forward” with the injunction request, Cycle Toronto’s filings said.
If the request is successful, the province will be barred from removing the lanes before the case is heard in full on April 16 and a verdict is given.
TorontoToday previously reported on internal government emails showing the Ford government wasn’t planning to remove the lanes before March 20.
In the court filing, Cycle Toronto’s lawyers argued granting an injunction wouldn’t significantly affect the government’s objective of reducing congestion by removing the bike lanes.
“The likely harm that removing the bike lanes will cause to the constitutional rights and bodily integrity of road users and pedestrians overwhelms any prejudice that might be caused to the public interest by delaying the removal of the lanes until the application can be heard in one month’s time,” the lawyers said in the filing.
On March 11, the presiding judge could render the decision immediately or wait a few days.
Lindsay Beck, a lawyer with Ecojustice working on the case, said she’s hopeful the injunction will be granted.
“Injunctions are always tough. The government is presumed to be acting in the public interest when it passes laws,” she told TorontoToday.
“We were heartened that the judge who presided over scheduling court was of the view that preserving the status quo for a few more weeks wouldn't prejudice the public interest, and we're hopeful that the judge hearing the matter will view it the same way.”
Injunction request comes amid heated opposition to Ford's bike lane removal plan
The Ford government’s bill ignited a firestorm at Toronto City Hall and led to protests at Queen’s Park.
“Ripping up our roads will make our congestion worse, especially during the time that you're ripping it up. It’s costly and it will make our roads less safe for cyclists,” Mayor Olivia Chow said in November.
A city staff report forecasted removing the three lanes would cost $48 million, significantly increase travel times along the routes during construction and not lead to shorter vehicle commute times.
“The removal of existing bike lanes will be a complex project that will be challenging to implement within a short time period due to planning, design and construction requirements,” staff said.
For example, taking out bike lanes along Bloor Street between Spadina Avenue and Avenue Road would result in eight months of vehicle lane reductions along the busy road, as well as a month-long closure of the St. George Street and Bloor Street intersection.
Removing the lanes along University Avenue between College and Dundas streets would take nine months and result in a single open southbound lane.
Replacement lanes also can’t be put on secondary streets without taking car lanes out, staff said.
“There are no feasible parallel alternates for cycling routes that wouldn’t also result in the conversion of a motor vehicle travel lane,” the report said.
-— With files from Jack Hauen
