The presence of car-brain – or motonormativity as the experts call it – in Toronto has been quite infuriating as of late. In addition to some new developments surrounding Bill 212, even transit developments and revenue tools are being affected along with a different cycling matter. Let’s look at this mayhem and how we can respond!
Ups and Downs with Bill 212
Last month, Justice Paul Schabas granted an injunction to prevent any bike lane removals on Bloor, University, or Yonge until he can decide on Cycle Toronto’s Charter Challenge which could take a few months. Unfortunately, this reprieve for Toronto’s cycling community was short lived. Ontario Premier Doug Ford made some disturbing rants against the injunction and called for American style elected judges, while his government started the multi-step process to appeal the injunction. This threat to judicial independence was condemned by Ontario’s three Chief Justices, while one irony is that this appeal may not happen until the Charter Challenge itself gets decided on. Basically, wasting the courtroom’s time when they have been short staffed as is!
This kind of reaction makes it increasingly likely the Ford government could invoke the Notwithstanding Clause to override the Charter as they had tried to do a few times before. Having the Charter overridden to jeopardize the safety of cyclists is unforgivable and is something that the federal government and other provinces must swiftly condemn in the event it does happen.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Ford government would target two more bikeways for removal; those being Queen’s Park and Avenue Road. The latter is exceptionally infuriating given the Avenue Road Safety Coalition had spent the past eight years campaigning to make that road safer for all road users including wider sidewalks and bike lanes, while Ali Sezgin Armagan was killed on Avenue Road in April 2024 which spurred the City to install bike lanes there a few months later. Not to mention, tying additional bike lane removals to a budget bill is just plain unacceptable! However, there was one subtle change in language where it said the targeted roads would see vehicle lanes reinstated while maintaining bike lanes where possible. Still can’t let our guards down, folks!
Revenue Tools Also Targeted
The recent budget announcement imposed further interference against the City of Toronto. It called for the elimination of Toronto’s ability to charge a vehicle registration tax which was granted under the 2006 City of Toronto Act almost twenty years ago. This tax was abolished when the Premier’s late brother Rob Ford became Mayor in 2010, while Doug Ford scrapped vehicle registration fees provincewide back in 2022. Furthermore, the budget would ban municipalities such as Toronto from charging road tolls or congestion charges.
The new Ontario budget promises to take away Toronto’s ability to ever bring back the vehicle registration tax. Wasn’t likely to happen anyway, but still another loss for municipal autonomy. budget.ontario.ca/2025/pdf/202... (PDF)
— Matt Elliott (@graphicmatt.com) May 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM
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As we have seen in New York City, London, and elsewhere, congestion pricing is proven to reduce gridlock and encourage people to walk, bike, or take transit. With Toronto’s longstanding budgetary pressures, the Province’s move to take away such revenue tools will only serve to make these budgetary pressures and gridlock even worse, while risking Toronto to fall even further behind other world class cities which are moving away from single occupancy vehicles.
Opposition to RapidTO Projects
Car-brain has also seeped into transit projects with the ongoing RapidTO consultations seeing opposition for both the Dufferin and Bathurst projects. The so-called “Protect Dufferin” website refused to identify themselves (astroturf, anyone?) and issued poorly received Facebook ads claiming bus lanes would “hurt the neighbourhood”! A Change.org petition opposing RapidTO on Bathurst got over 500 signatures at the time of writing and spread roundly debunked claims that bus lanes would harm businesses. Something all too familiar from those endless bike lane debates!
Given this opposition, it’s critical we fill out the surveys for both projects by Monday, May 26 to show our support. These bus priority lanes will still be needed long after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Beltline Gap Connections at Risk
Last, but not least, Councillor Mike Colle brought forward Motion MM30.13 ahead of next week’s City Council meeting calling for the Beltline Gap Connections project to be paused. Likely in response to the strong local opposition to the project over ridiculous claims the bi-directional bike lane on Marlee would reduce traffic lanes when they won’t. This is a critical project to complete the connection between both parts of the Beltline Trail, as well as the Marlee bikeway gap between Roselawn and Eglinton Avenues.
Please e-mail councilmeeting@toronto.ca, Mayor Chow (mayor_chow@toronto.ca), your city councillor, and Councillor Colle (if he’s not your councillor) urging that they oppose this motion. Most importantly, please encourage those who live in Councillor Colle’s Eglinton Lawrence ward to do so. If enough of his own constituents call him out on this terrible plan, he just might withdraw the motion on his own accord. Councillor Chris Moise did this a couple of times recently over the governance of the Moss Park Arena and a proposal to grant the City powers to deny liquor permits needed to host rave events. Of course, there are times councillors don’t when Gord Perks refused the community’s demand to remove Green P parking spots on the west side of Parkside Drive a few years back.
Next Steps
Regardless of whether we bike, walk, or take transit, it’s important we stop fighting each other and instead, work together against the main problem of car dependency. The TTC’s RapidTO projects and the Province’s revenue tool restrictions through their recent budget are proof this car-brain (a.k.a. motonormativity) is a not just bikes matter. When we prioritize cities for people over cars, we make cities better for everyone including drivers despite what the car-brains may think!
UPDATE: Some businesses along Bathurst were spotted putting up these awful signs in their windows per this post from txlseries4 on Urban Toronto.
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