TORONTO — The Ford government began the first phase of removing protected bike lanes on a 1.2-kilometre stretch of Bloor st. in Etobicoke on Oct. 13, but protesters surrounded construction trucks that evening and forced the crews to leave without starting the work.The section runs between Clissold Rd. and Royal York rd. It is the opening move in the province’s plan to eliminate roughly 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes on Bloor St., Yonge St., and University Ave. Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said after the delay that the province still intends to proceed.“Make no mistake: these bike lanes are coming out,” Sarkaria wrote on X. “We have a clear mandate and we will deliver.”The removals follow an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in August that overturned a lower-court decision which had blocked the province’s legislation. Cycle Toronto and co-applicants have filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. The application does not stop the planned work.City estimates have put the cost of removing the full targeted network at about $48 million. The province has disputed that figure without releasing its own estimate. The expenditure would fall on provincial taxpayers..Most of the Etobicoke work is expected to occur at night to limit daytime traffic disruption, with the stretch scheduled to finish in November. Broader removals on the remaining sections are not expected until later, with some possibly delayed until spring 2027.Advocates argue the removals will not ease congestion and will make streets less safe for cyclists and other road users. Jess Spieker of Friends and Families for Safe Streets has said the province knows the changes will not fix traffic. Some local business owners have welcomed the return of vehicle lanes. One Etobicoke restaurant owner told Toronto Sun that the change would restore access that had been lost.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has called the province’s decision unacceptable and an override of the city’s choices. The Ford government has maintained that the lanes allocate substantial road space to a small share of users and that restoring vehicle capacity is a priority for moving people and goods.The Court of Appeal win cleared the legal path for the province after a prolonged fight. Cycle Toronto has said it may seek a stay pending any Supreme Court hearing, but no such order is in place. The first physical attempt to remove the Etobicoke lanes was therefore able to proceed until protesters intervened.Work on the Etobicoke section is expected to resume. The broader 19-kilometre program continues to face both legal challenges and on-the-ground opposition.
