What We’ve Achieved

In June 2023, after years of advocacy work, Toronto City Council overwhelmingly approved the Bloor Street West Complete Street extension by a vote of 21-1 (see decision history here). In late 2025, the Ford government spent $750,000 to add a 600 metre motor lane in each direction under the rail tracks west of Islington Ave. The bike lane, however, remained intact, albeit slightly narrowed. The nearby police station had raised concerns about possible traffic congestion getting in their way at the underpass.

Initial installation of the Complete Street/bike lane extension from Runnymede Rd to Aberfoyle Cres was completed by the city at the end of 2023, while the further extension from Aberfoyle to Resurrection Road was installed by the summer of 2024. (A stranded bike lane was already in place from Resurrection Road to just west of Kipling Avenue.) The result was that Toronto finally had a bike lane that stretched across much of the city -- over 20 kilometres east-west from Scarborough deep into Etobicoke. Our bike count in Sept 2024 showed significant increases in ridership, consistent with findings of the city, and a significant drop in sidewalk cycling. (See our bike count report below). 

Project details can be found on the City of Toronto’s dedicated web page.  An interim report on project implementation and impact, dated June 2024, can be seen here.

Our campaign also supports plans that would see the Complete Street concept extended along Bloor Street all the way west to the city boundary with Mississauga.

Doug Ford's anti-bike lane policies, litigation, and threats of bike lane removal

In October 2024, despite the success of the Bloor West bike lane --- and related road safety improvements as part of the Complete Street project --- the provincial government under Doug Ford announced that the Bloor, University, and Yonge Street bike lanes would be removed. However, no immediate action was taken. A legal challenge by Cycle Toronto and lawyers from Ecojustice and Paliare Roland against the bike lane removal provisions of Bill 212 succeeded at the Superior Court level. The judge found that removing the bike lanes violated the right to life and security of the person. This deprivation of section 7 of the Charter --- especially in view of the lack of evidence presented by the government about reducing road congestion --- could not be justified under the principles of fundamental justice. 

Subsequently, the Ford government appealed the decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which heard the matter on January 28, 2026. In the meantime, an injunction against bike lane removal remained in place. In August 2026, the Court of Appeal overturned the lower court decision, concluding that bike lane removal --- whether advisable or not --- was a matter for the provincial legislature. 

The province has issued a Request for Proposals with a December 2, 2026 deadline about bike lane removal and car lane restoration. Curiously, in the midst of the litigation, the Ford government had adjusted the wording of the HTA from: the minister "shall remove" bike lanes to "shall restore" cars lanes "by reconfiguring" bike lanes. It is unclear whether this wording will be honoured or whether a new regulation passed to allow removal without reconfiguration.

Ironically, Ford's attack on bike lanes, including the Bloor West bike lane/Complete Street extension into Etobicoke came soon after a Town Hall by local councillor Amber Morley in September 2024 at which it was clear that the project had strong public support, albeit with strong opposition. To that point in time, opponents had claimed with Trump-style bluster that "no one wants the bike lanes." This was obviously false.  

In the installation phase, the 4.7 km extension had been divided into segments, with loud opposition --- led by a small group of well-connected businessmen --- only along the 1.7 km stretch in the area known as The Kingsway. In other segments, public support outweighed the opposition. Interestingly, Ford's local MPP and incumbent Christine Hogarth, who was a leading opponent of the bike lane, lost to Liberal challenger Lee Fairclough in the February 2025 provincial elections. Of course, road safety projects should not be treated as popularity contests, but it's also clear that the days of giving cars priority over other values are gone.