March 28, 2025 - Cycle Toronto’s Charter challenge against Bill 212 to save our bike lanes is full steam ahead for April 16th. Tonight’s Toronto Critical Mass, “organized by the community, for the community”, will see hundreds of cyclists take the streets in protest against this attempt to rip out our bike lanes. Meet-up is at Bloor St. and Spadina Ave. at 6:00 pm.
Visit their Facebook group for more details about Toronto Critical Mass here.
This comes after last week’s protest organized by activists from Fridays for Future at Stantec’s Toronto offices.
It was with anger and outrage that we learned back in January that Stantec, a Canadian engineering firm whose corporate values espouse “we put people first, we do what is right,” was partnering with the province in their scheme to rip out 19 kilometres of Toronto bike lanes.
Over 2,300 letters from supporters like you were sent to senior Stantec executives urging them to rip up this agreement and cancel this contract. Over the ensuing weeks, sources quietly indicated that Stantec was getting cold feet and had reconsidered the extent of their involvement due to public outcry.
In response to Fridays for Future’s protest, CBC reports that Stantec are on the record that they have reduced the scope of their work:
The statement went on to say Stantec is working on developing technical drawings for “a small section” of the bike corridors, representing about 1.5 km in total. After those drawings are complete, the firm will no longer be involved, [Colin Nekolaichuk, a public relations manager for Stantec] said.
That’s still 1.5 kilometres too many. If you haven’t already, email Stantec and say so here:
It’s also not clear which sections those 1.5 kilometres represent (while there are certainly theories, we won’t speculate here), let alone what’s the plan–if any–for the remaining ~18 kilometres. Documents unveiled in court also reveal that the internal data doesn’t align with the “common sense” public messaging. The province’s own experts and consultants confirm what Cycle Toronto, advocates, and opponents to this legislation have been saying all along:
1. Ripping out bike lanes won’t solve congestion and will make traffic worse
2. There is no mythical network of secondary roads that could replace the target bike lanes
3. Moving ahead with these removals will put the lives of all road users–not just cyclists–at risk
This is all a waste of your taxpayer money, and we deserve transparency on any plans.
And family-friendly protesters save the date! Join Kidical Mass for an all ages and abilities rally and bike ride to save our bike lanes and protect our kids on Saturday, April 5th at Queen’s Park.
