Cycling advocates plan large demonstration as Ford government begins removing Etobicoke bike lanes on Tuesday

Cycling advocates say construction crews won’t be the only ones showing up Tuesday when work begins to remove bike lanes on Bloor Street in Etobicoke.

Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists says an all-out two-wheeled protest is planned on a stretch of Bloor Street West between Islington and Royal York to “disrupt, or try to make it difficult” for the bike lanes to be removed.

“A bunch of cyclists, about 1,000, maybe a lot more, will show up to the scene, they will just take over the bike lane,” says Geoffrey Bercarich, one of the leaders of the group, adding he doesn’t anticipate any of the demonstrators physically getting in the way of construction crews.  

“There’s also a really harsh policy that was put in place where if anybody tries to disrupt the deconstruction of the bike lane they will face extra hard criminal charges. I don’t think anybody’s going down that route.”  

Mayor Olivia Chow has called the Ford government’s decision to remove the bike lanes “outrageous,” saying the provincial government is overstepping its mandate.

Michael Longfield with Cycle Toronto says he’s shocked at the estimated cost to remove the bike lanes.

“Why is the province spending $48 million to fixate on 19 kilometres of roads in Toronto when there are clearly other priorities.”

Cycle Toronto, which unsuccessfully took the Ford government to court to try and stop them from ripping out the bike lanes, says it is still considering the option of appealing the ruling up to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In September, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the province’s authority to redesign public roadways, overturning a lower-court ruling which found that the plan created an unconstitutional risk to cyclist safety. In a strongly worded ruling, the three judge panel said the lower court judge had not only misapplied the law but strayed into policy-making and political considerations.

The province issued a request for proposals last month, saying it would begin restoring motor‑vehicle lanes on several of Toronto’s busiest corridors including Bloor Street, Yonge Street, University Avenue, Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent and Avenue Road.