TORONTO, Ont. – Torontonians are learning more about a legal challenge launched by the Toronto Cyclists Union, Tuesday, over the city’s plan to remove bike lanes on Jarvis Street.

“We feel there are sufficient grounds to call upon the city to undertake a full Schedule C environmental assessment process for the Jarvis Street reconfiguration,” said the Union’s Andrea Garcia at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, explaining that the legal action makes the case against the technical process by which the lanes are being removed.

The City first approved the Jarvis Street bike lanes in 2009 under then-Mayor David Miller, and they were installed in summer 2010. Mayor Ford has said in the past that removing the lanes would be a waste of time and would cost $250,000 to be reinstalled. The Cyclists Union said an environmental assessment would cost less.

In summer 2011, city council voted to re-install the reversible centre car lane once separated bike lanes are installed on Sherbourne Street. At that time, efforts by the Union to sway the city’s decision did not work.

“I do feel confident that after the fact that the environmental assessment will show that the street is working fine for everybody, and therefore it should stay.” Garcia said.

The Union has posted a video on their website to ask cyclists on Jarvis if anything is wrong with the current set up.

“I think we need more bike lanes,” said one man. “You gotta have bike lanes or people will be killed.”

One woman found faults with the set up, explaining “there’s no barrier, so you don’t really feel like you have a bike lane. You’re still fighting with cars.”

“There’s not enough [bike lanes]. You don’t get people to work by having trail rides,” said another woman.

Many drivers polled in the video were also in favour of keeping the lanes. However, one woman felt cyclists are simply a nuisance.

“Bikes do not pay attention to any of the traffic laws. I can’t stand them,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Union said if they are ignored by the city, they plan on taking their fight to the province.

“We’ve requested that the city respond within ten days. If the city does not respond, then we will be bringing our concerns to the Ministry of the Environment,” said a spokeswoman at Tuesday’s conference. “The city in our opinion would be in breach of the municipal class environmental assessment, which gives them approval to conduct municipal infrastructure projects.”

Installing a bike lane does not require an environmental assessment, but removing one must follow that process.

The number of cyclists on Jarvis has tripled since the lanes were installed.