TORONTO — The Ontario government has completed the removal of protected bike lanes on a 1.2-kilometre stretch of Bloor Street West in Etobicoke, restoring motor vehicle lanes in both directions between Clissold Road and Royal York Road.The Ministry of Transportation confirmed the work wrapped up Friday. Crews removed precast concrete curbs, signage, and bus pads, then completed pavement repairs, new road markings, and updated traffic signs. The section is one of Toronto’s busiest arterials; the province says restoring capacity will cut gridlock, support local businesses, and give drivers time back in their day.Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement: “We were elected with a clear mandate to fight gridlock, restore traffic lanes and get drivers moving again, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’ve been clear that bike lanes belong where they make sense, not where they make congestion worse. Today, we’re delivering on our commitment to restore road capacity on Bloor Street West and get traffic moving on one of Toronto’s busiest streets.”.This is the first completed bike-lane removal under the Ford government’s broader plan to restore vehicle capacity on major Toronto roads. The work followed a unanimous Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that held public-road design decisions are matters of public policy for the elected legislature, not the courts. The decision overturned a lower-court block and cleared the way for the removals.Removal was scheduled to begin earlier this month but faced multi-day protests by cycling advocates. Toronto police arrested four people in connection with the demonstrations on charges that included mischief and obstructing police; the province proceeded, stating the work was lawful.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow called the removals “outrageous” and said the province had not demonstrated the changes would reduce congestion.Toronto city staff previously estimated the cost of removing the targeted Bloor, Yonge, and University bike lanes at roughly $48 million. The province has disputed that figure but has not released its own public estimate. The expenditure falls on provincial taxpayers.
