In October 2024, the Government of Ontario enacted the Reducing Gridlock, Saving Your Time Act, 2024. On November 21, 2024, the Ontario government introduced an amendment that would require the Minister of Transportation to remove three bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue in the City of Toronto (the “Target Bike Lane Removal Provision”).[1] The impugned provision was part of a series of amendments to the Highway Traffic Act in which Ontario has, among other things, required that the City of Toronto seek provincial government approval prior to installing bike lanes that would reduce the number of lanes available for motor vehicle travel.
A non-profit cycling advocacy organization and two Toronto residents (the “Applicants”) brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction prohibiting the Ontario government from implementing the Target Bike Lane Removal Provision. The Applicants alleged that the provision unjustifiably infringed the rights of Toronto cyclists and other road users under section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”) by exposing them to a heightened risk of serious injury or death.
In Cycle Toronto et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario et al.,[2] Justice Firestone of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the Applicants’ motion for an injunction prohibiting the removal of the Target Bike Lanes, without prejudice to a request for further injunctive relief.