Court rejects Ford government's appeal of injunction stopping it from removing bike lanes

Allison Jones · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 09, 2025 3:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

An Ontario tribunal has dismissed the province's effort to entreaty a tribunal bid that temporarily stopped it from ripping up 3 large Toronto motorcycle lanes.

Cycling advocates accidental the court's determination is simply a victory, and means Ontario can't region the motorcycle lanes until a justice has had the accidental to regularisation connected a Charter challenge.

A spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria suggested that immoderate work, however, volition spell on.

"We volition proceed with the plan enactment indispensable to statesman removals of motorcycle lanes and get immoderate of our busiest roads moving, arsenic soon arsenic possible," Dakota Brasier wrote successful a statement.

"While we respect the court's decision, our authorities was elected with a wide mandate to get radical retired of postulation by restoring driving lanes."

Cycle Toronto, the radical starring the challenge, argues the instrumentality that enables the authorities to region the motorcycle lanes is arbitrary and puts lives astatine risk.

Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the authorities this outpouring to support its hands disconnected the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue motorcycle lanes until helium decides whether the instrumentality is unconstitutional.

His injunction ruling cited the nationalist involvement successful protecting cyclist information and a deficiency of grounds backing the government's assertion that removing the lanes would trim congestion.

The authorities asked the tribunal for support to entreaty that injunction decision, but a three-judge Divisional Court sheet dismissed the question for permission to entreaty successful a ruling dated Tuesday.