Oh boy.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has sharply criticized a recent court decision that ruled the government’s proposal to remove protected bike lanes in downtown Toronto unconstitutional, but he remains committed to both appealing the ruling and advancing a major infrastructure initiative under Highway 401.
On the Charter challenge
An Ontario Superior Court judge concluded that the removal of protected bike lanes along Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue would violate residents’ Charter rights—specifically their rights to life and security—by putting cyclists at “increased risk of harm and death,” with no credible evidence that removing these lanes would alleviate congestion. The Charter challenge was launched by Cycle Toronto.
The advocacy group won the challenge against the province, preventing the Ford government from removing protected bike lanes on Yonge, University and Bloor streets — a legal battle that began in November 2024.
Back then, the government introduced Bill 212, formally called the “Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act.” The legislation proposed tearing out major bike lanes and requiring municipalities to get provincial approval before adding new ones that would reduce vehicle lanes
Something about how we don’t elect judges
In response, Ford dismissed the court’s decision: “I believe, and the people of Ontario believe, that they elect parties to make decisions — they don’t elect judges,” he said to the CBC. The government confirmed its intent to appeal the ruling, insisting it has a “clear mandate to restore lanes of traffic and get drivers moving.”
Then there’s this. Deep breath.
Meanwhile, the Premier reaffirmed his ambitious tunnel proposal—an engineering vision to build a tunnel running beneath Highway 401. First floated in September 2024 as part of broader congestion-busting proposals and touted as potentially “one of the world’s longest tunnels,” the idea has grown into a central campaign promise. It remains, however, speculative and highly controversial as it may cost over a 100 billion bucks.
On Thursday, Ford said that he “talked to some tunnelling folks,” as reported by the Trillium.
“We’re going to make it 19.5 m. No one’s ever done that. We’re going to have one lane going east, one lane going west, and the bottom part is going to be transit,” he said.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…