Latest news with #cyclingadvocacy
CTV News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Hundreds attend rally outside Halifax City Hall over bike lane motion
Hundreds of cycling advocates gathered in Halifax Tuesday morning over a motion the mayor plans to table about bike lanes.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Chow, Ford strike collaborative tone on future of Toronto bike lanes
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appear to have found middle ground on the future of bike lanes in the city as the province looks to rip up 19 kilometres of cycling infrastructure on three major roads. Chow said Friday that city staff have identified areas where car lanes can be restored while keeping bike lanes intact and that her team is currently looking at technical drawings to determine their feasibility. 'So, I think that's a solution that can be arrived at through collaboration, which is what we're doing right now,' Chow said after joking that she and Ford rode a tandem bicycle to Friday's unrelated news. Ford's government passed legislation last year to remove sections of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue. The legislation also requires that municipalities ask the province for permission to install a bike lane if a lane for cars would be removed. In April, lawyers for a cycling advocacy group challenging the removal of those bike lanes were granted an injunction, which paused the provincial plans until a judge decides on the constitutionality of the case. The Ontario government is appealing that decision. Ford lashed out at what he called 'bleeding heart judges' following the injunction being granted and suggested that Ontario should elect their judges, like they do in the U.S. However, he struck a more agreeable tone on Friday. 'I want to work collaboratively with the mayor, and when it comes to the bike lanes, we had a clear mandate in the last election, but the fact is, we're talking about three bike lanes, and hopefully we can find alternatives and work with the mayor and with the city staff. That's what we want to do,' Ford said, adding that he doesn't 'hate bike riders or bike lanes.' Ford said while the conversations about bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University are ongoing, '98 per cent' of the city's other bike lanes would be 'left alone.' It's unclear which areas along those three major streets have been identified as viable options to reintroduce a car lane, but a source familiar with the plan told The Canadian Press in April that it includes returning two car lanes to University Avenue near the city's hospital row, and narrowing the bike lanes and removing on-street parking. The province didn't reject the idea and said it was 'open' to the idea, so long as the city funds their portion of 'their identified infrastructure needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
CBC
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ontario serves notice to appeal injunction preventing it from removing Toronto bike lanes
The Ontario government has taken its first step to appeal a temporary injunction that prevents it from ripping up three Toronto bike lanes until a judge decides whether its plan to remove them is unconstitutional. On Wednesday, the Ministry of the Attorney General filed what is called a notice of motion for leave to appeal an April 22 decision by Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas. In that decision, Schabas ordered the government not demolish the bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue until he makes a decision on a Charter challenge by cycling advocates of provincial legislation. The injunction is in force until he rules on the challenge. Schabas said in his ruling that failure to issue an injunction would "cause more harm and inconvenience to the public interest" than allowing the legislation to be implemented, and that the government did not provide evidence about the process by which it would remove the lanes or what it plans to put in their place. Asked why it seeks to overturn the injunction, the ministry said in an email on Wednesday that Ontario wants to proceed with its plans. "As we've always said, we need to keep our busiest roads moving and that's exactly what we're doing," ministry spokesperson Dakota Brasier said. Decision to appeal 'fuelled by spite,' advocates say Cycle Toronto, an advocacy group that says it works to make Toronto a "healthy, safe and vibrant cycling city for all," said in a statement on Wednesday that the government is ignoring what its own experts have told it. "The facts are clear: ripping out bike lanes won't solve congestion and will put people's lives at risk. The provincial government's own experts agree. Today the provincial government confirmed they don't care about the facts," the group said in the statement. "Today's decision by the province is a distraction, fuelled by spite, coming off last week's rant from the Premier that had a few inconsistencies with the truth and seriously undermined judiciary independence." Last week, Premier Doug Ford went on a rant about some provincial judges, arguing they are soft on crime and interfering in municipal issues based on ideology, and floated the idea of electing judges in Canada as is done in parts of the U.S. He also singled out the injunction, saying the province planned to appeal it. "We get democratically elected, and some judge slaps an injunction on bike lanes. Don't the judges have anything better to do than worry about if we're taking out bike lanes or not taking out bike lanes?" Ford had said. The province gave itself the power last year to remove 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes, despite the objections of the city. It passed a law that requires cities to seek provincial approval to install new lanes that cut into vehicle traffic.
