Ontario to ask for appeal of court order pausing Toronto bike lane removals

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Ontario is seeking to appeal a temporary court order stopping it from ripping up three major Toronto bike lanes while a judge weighs whether the plan is unconstitutional.

The government served notice of its intent to appeal last month’s injunction to lawyers for a cycling advocacy group challenging its plan to remove lanes on Bloor St., Yonge St. and University Ave.

Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the government last month to keep its hands off the 19 km of bike lanes until he could decide the case.

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.

In response to Wednesday’s notice, a spokesperson for Ontario’s transportation minister said they “need to keep our busiest roads moving.”

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Cycle Toronto, the advocacy group leading the removal challenge, called the government’s intent to appeal a “distraction fuelled by spite.

“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 a statement.

Last week, Premier Doug Ford singled out the injunction in a self-described “rant” critical of court decisions overruling the government and suggested Ontario should pursue an American-style system where judges are elected.

The suggestion, widely panned as an attack on judicial independence and impartiality, was later walked back by Ontario’s attorney general.