Toronto Cyclists Continue To Protest The Bloor Bike Lane Removal

Toronto Cyclists Continue To Protest The Bloor Bike Lane Removal

The protest that started on Tuesday the 13^th of October seems to still be going strong, despite the removal of sections of the bike lane. The protest started when the Ford government moved ahead with its plan to remove a roughly one kilometer stretch of bike lanes along Bloor Street West between Islington Avenue and Royal York Road.

In 2024, the provincial government passed bill 212 a piece of legislation to granting itself the authority to remove the lanes. The plan includes 19 kilometers of protected bike lanes on three major city roads, Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue. Including, Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent, and Avenue Road, not surprisingly sparking the protest.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice temporarily blocked the move, but the Ontario Court of Appeals overruled the lower courts decision. Clearing the way for the provincial government to move forward with its plane to remove the bike lanes. Cycle Toronto is trying to stop the province from removing bike lanes by seeking to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Cycle Toronto and its co-applicants are being represented by Ecojustice, an environmental law charity, and Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP.

Removing bike lanes on major Toronto streets would cost at least $48 million according to city staff. Ford previously said the $48 million estimation is “a bunch of hogwash”, and he said that “We’re going to show them how to do it for a lot less and get traffic moving.”

By the 15^th of October the police said they arrested a total of three people, at the demonstration against the removal of bike lanes along the stretch on Bloor Street West. According to a police media release, they arrested Aly Van Wyck-Smart, she is a Paralympian with cerebral palsy.

“It’s very clear in terms of the facts of this case that they haven’t changed, that bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion, that ripping them out will put people’s lives at risk,” said Cycle Toronto executive director Michael Longfield at a Tuesday morning news conference.

“It’s a gigantic waste of money, and it’s trampling on local democracy. It’s unacceptable and it’s outrageous,” Mayor Olivia Chow said of the bike lanes plan.

Cyclists argue that removing physical barriers and bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue, and Yonge Street violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. The Supreme Court filing does not automatically halt ongoing work, and provincial lane removals has continued.