Cyclist coalitions and advocacy groups across Toronto are preparing to fight back against the Ontario government’s Bill 212: Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, which passed at Queen’s Park on Monday.
The controversial legislation forces municipalities in Ontario to ask the province for permission before installing bike lanes in cases where they would require the removal of a lane for vehicular traffic.
The polarizing bill also allows the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue.
According to a city staff report, installing the bike lanes cost around $27 million, and removing them to make way for car lanes would cost roughly $48 million, although the province has strongly disputed these estimates.
A last-minute amendment to the bill also protects the provincial government from lawsuits if people are killed or injured on a street where a bike lane was removed — a decision fiercely opposed by cyclist advocates and opposition party leaders.
Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have also raised concerns about the legislation, which allows work to begin on the forthcoming Highway 413 prior to the completion of an Indigenous consultation and also exempts the project from the Environmental Assessment Act.
As a result, cycling coalitions in Toronto have organized a Critical Mass bike ride for Friday evening to “fight back” against the controversial legislation.
Executive Director of Cycle Toronto Michael Longfield tells blogTO that Toronto’s history of Critical Mass rides predates the installation of the bike lanes the province is now vowing to remove with Bill 212, and have ebbed and flowed in popularity over the years.
“Although there’s no central organizing for these events, it’s clear the community is responding to the very real threat to our collective health and safety with Friday’s planned ride,” Longfield explained.
“Especially now that Bill 212 is law, this kind of direct action can create a powerful message. We’ve seen growing protests over the past months since rumours of this legislation was leaked: from the rally Cycle Toronto organized for the Bloor St. Town Hall to the Ghost Bike Delivery to Queen’s Park.”
The administrator of the Critical Mass Toronto Facebook page, Geoffrey Bercarich, describes the event as a “community-governed bike ride” that goes “where the community wants it to go.”
The upcoming ride, which kicks off on Friday at 6 p.m., was redirected to start at High Park’s Bloor entrance.
Tomorrow people on bikes will ride from High Park (Bloor entrance meet) at 6:30.
If I were riding in this Critical Mass I would want to bring: 1) bike lights and warm clothes; 2) signs or banners letting motorists know that the disruption is Doug Ford’s fault 😉 #BikeTO pic.twitter.com/MEJuQyMtXe
— The Biking Lawyer (Dave Shellnutt) (@TheBikingLawyer) November 28, 2024
“The park has been the target of many drivers because they’re angry it’s car-free. So the ride will lead hundreds of cyclists around the west end to demonstrate bicycles deserve to be on the streets,” Bercarich told blogTO.
“The first ride was on Temperance Street between Yonge and Bay over 30 years ago. The last Friday of every month is always the busiest day for traffic and thus the idea to have a mass bike ride of a thousand cyclists who would encourage people to understand that bicycles can traverse congestion without being stuck in traffic.”
Bercarich says the bill has the ability to undo everything cycling has done for the city by a decade or more.
“The bill also makes it impossible for cyclists to sue the province for injuries resulting from the removal of the bike lanes…a first for any bill in Ontario history. It’s an unjust against the wishes of Toronto residents,” he said.
“It’s a terrible bill that pretends that congestion is purely at the fault of cyclists and not of the mismanagement of a provincial government. The Eglinton Crosstown, Ontario line, and the constant condo boom have brought Toronto traffic to a standstill. The province won’t take responsibility for its own incompetent policies.”
