BIKE LANES & SPEED CAMERAS
SAFETY CUTS · LAWSUIT SHIELDS
The Ford government has overridden Toronto on protected bike lanes, banned municipal automated speed enforcement cameras province-wide, and passed legislation that blocks lawsuits when those changes hurt people. A Superior Court judge found the targeted Toronto bike-lane removals arbitrary — they would not reduce congestion and would put cyclists at greater risk — yet the province appealed. These are shallow populist moves that sacrifice road safety for drivers-first messaging.
Toronto bike lanes — Bill 212
Source: Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 (ola.org); Cycle Toronto et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario, 2025 ONSC 4397.
- Bill 212 amended the Highway Traffic Act to require removal of protected bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue, and Yonge Street in Toronto — restoring motor-vehicle lanes.
- A last-minute amendment added ss. 195.10–195.14: no lawsuits against the government, municipalities, or contractors for collisions, injuries, or deaths resulting from removing those lanes.
- In July 2025, Justice Schabas ruled s. 195.6 unconstitutional: removal would increase harm to cyclists without achieving the stated goal of reducing congestion.
- The judge found the law arbitrary and grossly disproportionate under Section 7 of the Charter; internal advice to government had already said removals would not fix gridlock.
- The province appealed; a Court of Appeal hearing was held in January 2026 — decision pending as of print date.
Speed cameras — Bill 56
Source: Bill 56, Building a More Competitive Economy Act, 2025 (ola.org); CBC and Global News reporting, November 2025.
- Bill 56 repealed Part XIV.1 of the Highway Traffic Act — ending municipal automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras in school zones and community safety zones.
- Royal Assent November 3, 2025; municipalities were required to remove cameras by November 14, 2025 — before permanent traffic-calming replacements were in place.
- Premier Ford called the cameras a "tax grab"; police associations and many municipalities had documented their effectiveness at slowing drivers.
- Section 206.6 extinguishes certain lawsuits against the Crown and municipalities tied to repealing speed-camera contracts.
- Temporary signage was promised, but ripping out working enforcement first trades proven safety tools for political optics.
Future bike lanes — Bill 60
Source: Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (ola.org); Environmental Registry of Ontario notice 025-1071.
- Bill 60 prohibits municipalities from reducing motor-vehicle lanes when installing new bicycle lanes — unless a regulation exempts the project.
- Passed November 24, 2025; Ottawa and other cities reported planned bike projects cancelled or redesigned because of the lane-reduction ban.
- The province says cities can still build bike lanes that do not remove a car lane — but on many arterial roads, safe separated lanes require rebalancing space.
- Bill 60 stacks on Bill 212: remove existing protected infrastructure in Toronto, then restrict how other cities build safer alternatives.
- This does not fix induced demand — more car lanes tend to fill with more cars, not less congestion.
What this means for commuters
Pedestrians, cyclists, children, and low-income residents who rely on bikes bear the highest risk.
- Protected bike lanes separate people from traffic — removing them increases injury and death risk, according to the court record and city data cited in Cycle Toronto v. AG.
- Speed cameras enforce limits 24/7 in school zones; removing them shifts enforcement back to sporadic police presence.
- Lawsuit-immunity clauses signal the government expects harm — then blocks accountability.
- Congestion is a regional problem; scapegoating bike lanes ignores transit, induced demand, and sprawl policy.
- Talk to neighbours: protectont.ca/flyer · protectont.ca/protests · protectont.ca/take-action