Ontario appeal court says Ford can rip out Toronto bike lanes
Premier Doug Ford’s government can rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes in Toronto, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled in a decision released Friday, reversing a lower court decision made in July 2025.
Friday’s decision by a panel of 3 judges reverses lower court ruling from 2025
Lane Harrison · CBC News
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Premier Doug Ford’s government can rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes in Toronto, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled in a decision released Friday, reversing a lower court decision made in July 2025.
The law empowering the province to remove bike lanes along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue was initially passed at Queen’s Park in 2024. But the infrastructure remained on Toronto’s streets after advocacy organization Cycle Toronto and others launched a legal challenge against the bill.
In the 2025 ruling, Justice Paul Schabas ruled the removal would be unconstitutional because it would put people at increased risk of harm and death, which engages the right to life and security of the person.
But a panel of three appeal court judges ruled Friday there is no constitutional obligation to regulate the use of roads in any particular manner.
"The legislature is free to legislate to remove a bicycle lane from a road — indeed, it may remove a road entirely — without implicating the Charter," reads the decision from three appeals court judges.
More to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lane Harrison is a reporter with CBC Toronto who primarily covers municipal and provincial politics. Born and raised in Toronto, he joined CBC in 2022 as a Joan Donaldson Scholar after an internship with the Globe and Mail. You can reach him at lane.harrison@cbc.ca
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