Health care workers urge Doug Ford to quash plan to remove Toronto bike lanes in open letter - Toronto Star

In September, the Ford government issued a request for proposal to remove or reconfigure over 19 kilometres of Toronto bike lanes.

The bike lane along Bloor Street, like just east of Islington Avenue, could be removed or reconfigured under the province’s plan.

A group of Ontario health care workers have written an open letter to Premier Doug Ford urging the government to reconsider their plan to remove bike lanes from Toronto streets.

One month after the Ford government moved one step closer to removing bike lanes from downtown Toronto streets with a call-out to contractors, standing on University Avenue’s hospital row which has bike lanes targeted for removal, the group unfurled their letter Tuesday.

Erin Wotherspoon, an emergency department social worker in downtown Toronto, explained how she has seen the direct impact of cycling injuries on the road.

“Our hospital trauma base received patients who have been hit, mangled or worse, and that is with our current bike infrastructure intact,” Wotherspoon said, speaking at the press conference hosted by advocacy group Doctors for Safe Cycling.

Around 650 health care workers signed the public letter, highlighting the safety benefit of bike lanes to all road users and opposing the provincial government’s planned removal of the lanes.

Samantha Green, a downtown family doctor and leader with Doctors for Safe Cycling, said that health care workers “will not take this lying down.” The movement has grown five-fold since a petition in 2024.

“We are worried about what these plans mean for our patients, for our neighbours, our friends and ourselves,” Green said.

On Tuesday, health care workers gathered downtown and unveiled a letter to Premier Ford protesting the removal of bike lanes in Toronto.

The provincial government first passed legislation allowing for the removal of arterial bike lanes in Toronto in 2024, with the goal of restoring lanes for motor vehicle traffic.

The bike lanes, however, remained after advocacy group Cycle Toronto launched a legal challenge against the bill. A Superior Court Justice in 2025 found that parts of the law violated the Charter by infringing on cyclists’ right to life and security of person.

The decision was overturned at the Appeal Court in August, paving the way for the Ford government issuing a request for proposals in September, calling for contractors to bid on the removal or reconfiguration of over 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes in Toronto.

A spokesperson for the provincial Ministry of Transportation said tangible measures to slow drivers like speed bumps and roundabouts are “the best way to keep our roads safe.”

“Bike lanes should go where they make sense, not where they make traffic worse. That’s why we’re restoring vehicle lanes on Toronto’s busiest streets,” Dakota Brasier said.

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The Premier’s office deferred a request for comment on the petition to the statement from the ministry.

In 2025, internal government documents filed in court said that current data did not confirm removing bike lanes “would significantly alleviate congestion,” citing research from cities including Vancouver and New York. 

In an email Toronto Paramedic Services spokesperson Dineen Robinson said the service “has not identified any isolated impact on response times” solely due to bike lanes on University Avenue and Bloor Street East.

Data from the City of Toronto illustrates that the number of cyclists has gone up significantly since the installation of dedicated lanes, many of which started as temporary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average daily usage of bike lanes on Bloor Street from the Royal York Road area to Church Street increased by 94.4 per cent, while stretches on other roads with bike lanes set for removal increased by over 100 per cent.

Wotherspoon uses bike lanes to get around the city on her daily commute, and a removal would force her to reconsider her habits.

“I would probably have to do some rerouting and figure out lower traffic routes ... I’ll have to come up with a different plan on how to get to work every day,” Wotherspoon said.

Gabriel Hilty is a staff reporter with the Toronto Star. He can be reached at ghilty@thestar.ca.