The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has denied an injunction by a group of cyclists that sought to stop the province from removing bike lanes in Toronto until a court challenge is heard.
The group, led by Cycle Toronto, launched a legal challenge against Bill 212, the province’s plan to remove bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue. The legislation was passed in November.
While the group’s court challenge will be heard in full in April, they sought the injunction to stop any biking infrastructure from being removed between late March and the April hearing.
Ontario will not begin removing bike lanes until March 20 at the earliest, a spokesperson for the ministry of transportation said earlier this week.
In his decision obtained by CBC Toronto, Justice Stephen Firestone referred to past cases that establish courts must assume government legislation aims to serve the public interest.
It was therefore up to the group to convince the court the injunction will do more for the public interest by protecting rights, he wrote.
But Firestone wrote the applicants did not meet the “heavy burden of establishing that an injunction… will do more for the public interest when considering the legislation’s stated purpose.”