Bike Lane Removals: Bills 212 and 60 Override Cities

$48MSource: City of Toronto estimated removal at $48M. The province has not published its own estimate. Toronto reports $27M already spent installing the targeted lanes; that is a separate sunk cost.

THE FORD FILES

dougfordclownshow.ca

$48M

Ontario's Court of Appeal cleared the province to proceed with removing 19 kilometres of Toronto bike lanes. On Sept. 1, 2026, the government issued an RFP for engineering design work to restore vehicle lanes on Bloor, Yonge, University, Queen's Park, and Avenue Road, and on Oct. 8 said removal on Bloor Street West would begin Oct. 13. Toronto says it spent $27M installing the lanes and estimates removal at $48M. A province-commissioned CIMA+ analysis projected that collisions involving all road users could rise by up to 54%.

Source: City of Toronto estimated removal at $48M. The province has not published its own estimate. Toronto reports $27M already spent installing the targeted lanes; that is a separate sunk cost.

Every claim sourced. Every pattern tracked.

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🚇 An in effect Transit policy from October 2024 · Bill 212 (2024), Bill 60 (2025), Bill 24 (2025) · Well sourced

Updated 1 week ago · Created Feb 22, 2026

Transit

Bike Lane Removals: Bills 212 and 60 Override Cities

Official Rationale

"Reducing Gridlock"

Removing bike lanes that slow down traffic to save commuters time and reduce congestion on major arterial roads.

"We need to and will remove and replace existing bike lanes on primary roads that are bringing traffic in our cities to a standstill."
— Doug Ford, Empire Club speech, October 2024

What the Evidence Shows

"Overriding Municipal Safety Decisions"

Province orders removal of Toronto bike lanes and requires provincial approval for future installations, overriding city council decisions about its own streets. A lower court ruled in July 2025 that the removal breached the Charter; the Court of Appeal reversed that ruling on Aug. 14, 2026.

Province's own commissioned CIMA+ report found bike lane removal could increase collisions by up to 54%source
Ontario's Court of Appeal reversed a 2025 Charter ruling on Aug. 14, 2026, clearing the province to remove the lanessource
Bill 212 requires any Ontario municipality to get provincial approval before adding bike lanes that remove a vehicle lanesource
Toronto city council formally opposed the bike lane removal plansource

This section represents editorial interpretation of documented evidence.

What this money could have funded instead

Adjust cost:$1M

$1M$48M

10nurse salaries (1 year)

2affordable housing units

11elementary school teacher salaries (1 year)

Figures are approximate, using publicly available Ontario cost data.

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