Ontario appeal court says Ford can rip out Toronto bike lanes

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Premier Doug Ford’s plan to rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes can go ahead, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled in a decision released Friday, reversing a lower court decision made in July 2025.

Friday’s decision by a panel of 3 judges reverses lower court ruling from 2025

Lane Harrison · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 14, 2026 12:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

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Premier Doug Ford’s plan to rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes can go ahead the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled in a decision released Friday, reversing a lower court decision made in July 2025.

The law empowering the province to remove bike lanes along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue was initially passed at Queen’s Park in 2024. But the infrastructure remained on Toronto’s streets after advocacy organization Cycle Toronto and others launched a legal challenge against the bill.

In the 2025 ruling, Justice Paul Schabas ruled the removal would be unconstitutional because it would put people at increased risk of harm and death, which engages the right to life and security of the person.

But a panel of three appeal court judges ruled Friday there is no constitutional obligation to regulate the use of roads in any particular manner.

More to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lane Harrison is a reporter with CBC Toronto who primarily covers municipal and provincial politics. Born and raised in Toronto, he joined CBC in 2022 as a Joan Donaldson Scholar after an internship with the Globe and Mail. You can reach him at lane.harrison@cbc.ca