Another person has been arrested for mischief and obstructing police during ongoing protests against the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street West in Etobicoke on Monday.
As crews have been steadily working on dismantling the bike lanes, cycling advocates and allies have been demonstrating alongside them since last week, attempting to slow down their progress and continuing to voice their opposition to the removal of what they call “life saving” cycling infrastructure.
Over last week, three other people were arrested, including two-time Canadian Paralympian Aly Van Wyck-Smart, who was protesting in a wheelchair. They were all charged with mischief and obstructing police.
Police say the latest arrest is that of an adult and occurred shortly after 1:15 p.m. Formal charges have not yet been laid.
Protests enter second week
The protests began on Oct. 13, with demonstrators managing to stave off work crews who had arrived to begin the work of bike lane removal. Work trucks turned around to the cheers of protesters shouting, “Get home safe.”
But the apparent victory did not last long as crews returned Wednesday morning and began removing concrete curb barriers and other bike lane infrastructure like reflective strips and transit platforms.
A tense stand-off between cyclists blocking a work truck and the bike lane removal crew was diffused by police on Wednesday, but another person sitting on a concrete barrier further down the lane was arrested after refusing to move.
Nina Thi Thi Tran, 25, from Hamilton was charged with obstruct peace officer and mischief – interfere with property – under $5,000. She was scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 8, 2027.
Later that evening, shortly before 8 p.m., a second protester was arrested with police alleging they were removing municipal signage and trying to leave the area.
Khoa Thanh Phan, 20, from Toronto, was charged with mischief – interfere with lawful use of property and theft under $5,000. They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 7, 2027.
On Thursday, protesters largely demonstrated on sidewalks while occasionally attempting to slow down work crews by positioning themselves near or around every subsequent curb barrier that was being removed.
Around 3 p.m. work crews had made their way up to just west of Royal York Road where Van Wyck-Smart had positioned their wheelchair directly on top of a curb barrier.
A police officer asked them to move and allow the work to continue. When they refused, workers moved around them and continued removing barriers further west down the line.
Shortly thereafter, Van Wyck-Smart was arrested by police at around 3:15 p.m., with officers lifting them out of their wheelchair as they struggled against them. They have been charged with mischief – interfere with the lawful use of property and obstruct peace officer and was scheduled to appear in court on Friday afternoon.
Protests continued on Friday, with advocates once again attempting to stem the progress of work crews.
While it was clear they could not effectively stop the bike lanes from being dismantled, they said they were continuing to voice their opposition to the precedent being set by the Province’s decision to remove them.
Bike lanes a divisive issue for the community
Even as protesters have been rallying and making their voices heard against bike lane removal, CityNews spoke to a number of area residents over last week who were relieved they were being taken down.
Many said they were not used enough to justify reducing traffic lanes and were making driving conditions worse.
The founder of Etobicoke community group Balance on Bloor was one such vocal voice in favour of getting rid of bike lanes.
Speaking with CityNews on Oct. 13, Cody MacRae said he and others in his group support bike lanes when implemented properly, but called the ones on Bloor Street West an “unmitigated disaster since say one.”
He said the move was a long time coming and they’re glad that the voices of those who live within the community have been heard.
“The current mayor and the current councillor have ignored calls and concerns from thousands of constituents here… anything that was brought up through the community was constantly ignored and neglected and dismissed… finally we have been listened to,” he said.
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