An Ontario court has dismissed the province’s attempt to appeal a court order that temporarily stopped it from ripping up three major Toronto bike lanes.
Cycling advocates say the court’s decision is a victory, and means Ontario can’t remove the bike lanes until a judge has had the chance to rule on a Charter challenge.
A spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria suggested that some work, however, will go on.
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“We will continue with the design work necessary to begin removals of bike lanes and get some of our busiest roads moving, as soon as possible,” Dakota Brasier wrote in a statement.
“While we respect the court’s decision, our government was elected with a clear mandate to get people out of traffic by restoring driving lanes.”
Cycle Toronto, the group leading the challenge, argues the law that enables the government to remove the bike lanes is arbitrary and puts lives at risk.
Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the government this spring to keep its hands off the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes until he decides whether the law is unconstitutional.
His injunction ruling cited the public interest in protecting cyclist safety and a lack of evidence backing the government’s claim that removing the lanes would reduce congestion.
The government asked the court for permission to appeal that injunction decision, but a three-judge Divisional Court panel dismissed the motion for leave to appeal in a ruling dated Tuesday.
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