A bicycle advocacy group is leading a court challenge against recently passed legislation that gives the Ontario government broad control over the installation and removal of municipal bike lanes, arguing it deprives Toronto cyclists of their charter rights to life and safety.
A challenge to recently passed Bill 212 seeks an injunction to prohibit the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street, which the Ford government claims are adding to congestion and response times for emergency vehicles.
The case was launched on Tuesday by Cycle Toronto and two people who say they regularly cycle in Toronto – Eva Stanger-Ross and Narada Kiondo – in a notice of application in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice.
“Evidence shows that separated bike lanes, such as those on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street, are safer for bicyclists and have less impact on vehicle traffic,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.
Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, said in a statement that the province is not acting in the public interest by removing the lanes.
“It's not about addressing congestion, working with municipalities for data-based solutions or giving people more transportation options,” he said.
“This is an unprecedented undermining of local democracy that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars and endanger the safety of cyclists.”
A city report in November estimated the cost of removing targeted bike lanes in Toronto at $48 million.
CBC Toronto reached out for comment from the office of Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, who introduced the bill, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Longfield arrived at the door while cycling, missing the news conference
Longfield was scheduled to announce a court challenge at Queen's Park, Cycle Toronto president Dana O'Bourne told reporters at a news conference Wednesday, but he was injured while cycling in Toronto on Monday. He was hit by a car door while riding in the painted bike lane on St. George Street, she said, and is now in hospital recovering from surgery.
“If Lane had been separated by a protective barrier instead of being painted, his injury would not have been possible,” O'Bourne said.
The law was fast-tracked last month, drawing criticism and protests from cyclists and advocates who say they rely on bike lanes to get around the city safely.
That includes Stenger-Ross, one of two people named in the court challenge, who says she bikes 10 kilometers to class at the University of Toronto every school day. She says she and other students rely on the Bloor Street bike lanes to get to campus, saying it's the easiest, most affordable way to get around.
“For many students there is no other option,” she said at a news conference Wednesday. “Removing these bike lanes doesn't take bikers off the road, it puts them in harm's way.”
The Ontario government has passed Bill 212, a controversial piece of legislation that would allow the removal of bike lanes on three major bicycle routes in Toronto. The bill allows construction of Highway 413 to begin prior to tribal consultation. CBC's Len Harrison has the details.
Ecojustice attorney Bronwyn Rowe, who is representing the challengers with attorneys at Paliare Roland LLP, said in a statement that studies show bike lanes save lives.
“Bill 212 is an arbitrary and dangerous law that violates Article 7 Charter-protected rights,” she said.
“There is no evidence that removing (bike lanes), without replacement routes in place and in doing so addressing traffic concerns, will lock in irresponsible car dependency and is not in the best interests of the community,” she said.
The law also includes an amendment that would prevent any lawsuits from being filed against the province if a cyclist is injured or killed on roads where bike lanes have been removed, which the group called a “tacit acknowledgment of the safety risk the government is creating.”
Source link
