Weeks after winning its appeal to remove bike lanes from several major Toronto streets, the Ford government is forging ahead with plans to rip the infrastructure from Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue.
In a mid-August ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s decision that removing bike lanes violated the Canadian Charter, allowing the government to proceed with its plan.
The decision reactivated a policy that Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government first put in place at the end of 2024 to restore space for vehicles — and remove bike lanes — from portions of Bloor, Yonge and University.
Get breaking National news
The plans also extend north as University Avenue turns into Queen’s Park Crescent and then Avenue Road.
- Federal government commits $29M to north Calgary water main project
- ‘Cruel’: Legal community questions N.S. move to exclude tents from higher income assistance
- Advocates say gender-based violence still overlooked in N.S. mass shooting response
- Transport minister says Metrolinx service cuts ‘temporary in nature’
-
![]()
DeGroote professor dissects intensifying Canada-U.S. trade war -
![]()
‘Lake Ontario, actually’: Adam van Koeverden responds to Trump’s ‘Lake America’ name change -
![]()
‘What an embarrassment’: Eby derides controversial Hegseth post about B.C. cadets -
![]()
Eby thinks B.C. NDP candidate will beat ‘hateful, divisive’ Kerry-Lynne Findlay in byelection
The province announced on Tuesday it was seeking bids from companies to undertake the work, with the earliest removal taking place in Etobicoke in the near future.
“We’re keeping our promise,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement. “Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we’re getting people and goods moving again and giving commuters back more of their time.”
The government said it was issuing a request for proposals from companies interested in redesigning the three major streets to either remove the bike lanes or, if possible, alter them to add more lanes for cars.
Work will begin immediately, the government said, on a short section of Bloor Street West where “minimal design work is required.”
Sure if a cyclist get injured or killed, the guilty Ford government cannot be sued. How irresponsible.
Anonymous.
“No mention of the fact that their own engineering reports said this won’t do anything to aid congestion and that people will die.”
Interesting. Can you provide proof of that?
People get kiIIed routinely in this city. I also see cyclist, and even cars, illegally passing streetcars on their left on to oncoming traffic. I’ve witnessed no de@ths so far, but if one were to happen what would be your thoughts on the cause of de@th?
FANTASTIC NEWS , HOPE THEY START SOON HERE IN VANCOUVER BC
No mention of the fact that their own engineering reports said this won’t do anything to aid congestion and that people will die.
Conservatives keep cheering his stupidity where his own studies say they work.
How many more ways will we tolerate Ford wasting our money?! Greenbelt scam, wind project cancellations ($230M), speed cameras (210M + similar lost revenues), unneeded highways benefiting donors and 401 tunnel pipe dream (billions), the incessant ads everywhere, now bike lane removal (48M+28M spent). Plus all the legal costs.
They spend on consultants that tell them these removals won’t reduce traffic congestion (likely the opposite, as Toronto is too big and dense for cars to be a primary mode now), and have no actual plan for the mythical secondary roads cycling routes, as there are no reasonable alternates, people will die needlessly, so a future government is going to have to spend our $$$ to redo this soon enough. Stop this waste!
Good. University bike lanes were never meant to be permanent, but only during shelter in place to keep people active. Not only did the city keep them, they built a bike lane one block east on York where 501 Streetcars are diverting due to subway construction.