February 2026
For Our Kids Toronto Stands Up for Bike Lanes in Op-ed for Toronto Today
For Our Kids Toronto Stands Up for Bike Lanes in Op-ed for Toronto Today
Dr. Alison Bruni is a member of For Our Kids Toronto and Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. In this opinion piece for Toronto Today, she explains why For Our Kids Toronto served as an intervener in the Cycle Toronto vs. Ontario case, arguing that the government's attempt to dismantle bike lanes violates the "best interest of the child" principle. Follow Cycle Toronto for developments on the case.
OPINION: Why bike lanes matter for kids
Bike lanes aren’t a luxury — they’re essential infrastructure for children’s health and safety, argues TorontoToday contributor Dr. Alison Bruni
As a parent, every decision I make is shaped by one simple question: Will this keep my child safe and healthy? As a physician, I ask a related one: Will this intervention prevent harm?
These are the same questions our courts should be asking as Ontario’s Court of Appeal prepares to hear Cycle Toronto v. Ontario on Jan. 28. This case will decide whether the province has the authority to remove existing bike lanes in Toronto.
This case is often framed as a political dispute or a fight between drivers and cyclists. But that framing misses what is truly at stake. Bike lanes aren’t a luxury — they’re essential infrastructure for children’s health and safety.
I’m a family doctor and the mother of a four year old, and I cycle with my son in Toronto almost every day. He now rides his own two-wheeler — his proud “big boy bike” — and each time we set out, his road safety is at the front of my mind.
As a parent, I want him to grow up active and able to move through his city without fear. As a physician, I have cared for countless patients injured in cycling accidents. This dual perspective makes the stakes of this court case painfully clear to me.
That is why For Our Kids Toronto, a parent-led volunteer group, has intervened in the appeal of the Cycle Toronto v. Ontario case, urging the court to consider a principle that too often goes unspoken in transportation debates: the best interests of the child.
Children experience the impacts of public policy differently from adults — and more intensely. They can be injured or killed in traffic collisions when streets are designed primarily for speed rather than safety. They are vulnerable to automobile pollution, as they breathe more air per pound of body weight, contributing to asthma and ER visits.
Protected bike lanes are proven to reduce collisions, calm traffic and improve air quality. They make it safer not only for people on bikes, but also for children walking, scooting or being pushed in strollers. They encourage physical activity, which supports mental and cardiovascular health.
Keeping and expanding our protected bike lanes is also critical to building a more sustainable city in the long term. In the face of climate change — which poses the biggest threat to our kids’ futures — we need to be protecting, not dismantling, the infrastructure needed to support zero emission mobility.
Protecting bike lanes isn’t about cycling over cars. It’s about protecting our children’s right to move safely, breathe clean air and grow up in livable communities.
So what is the solution?
The Court of Appeal must seriously consider the impact that our government’s policy decisions have on children’s health and safety. The best interests of our children should shape the decisions we make about public spaces every day.
But we cannot just leave this to the courts.
As parents, we have a role to play. We must speak up — to our elected representatives, our school communities and our neighbours — about why safe streets matter for kids. We should resist narratives that pit road users against one another and instead insist on policies that protect the most vulnerable. And we can remind decision-makers that children may not vote, but they will live with the consequences of today’s choices for decades.
This case is about more than bike lanes. It is about whether our legal system, and our society, are willing to put children’s health and safety at the centre of decisions that shape our world. As a parent and a physician, I believe we must — because our kids deserve nothing less.
Dr Alison Bruni is a physician, member of For Our Kids Toronto (a parent-led group of volunteer advocates) and representative of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
