October 14, 2026 - (Toronto, ON) Hundreds of Toronto cyclists gathered on mass yesterday, Oct. 13, for an All Out Protest Ride on Bloor Street W. in Etobicoke that went late into the evening. The protest disrupted the planned bike lane removal by the City of a 1.2-kilometre section between Clissold Road and Royal York Road, forcing the pylon trucks to leave amidst chants of “get home safe.”
Protest organizers vow to be back. “We (will) stick around for as long as it takes. That’s tonight, that’s tomorrow that’s this week, that’s next week,” said David Shellnutt (The Biking Lawyer), a lawyer and cycling advocate, to the Toronto Star.
The battle over bike lanes continues to heat up as Cycle Toronto held a press conference yesterday morning near the planned removal site to announce that they’re seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada after the Court of Appeal for Ontario overturned their lower court victory that found the removal of 19 km of protected bike lanes unconstitutional – read more here.
“The facts are clear: bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion, ripping them out will put people’s lives at risk, and no network of side streets can replace the 19 (kilometres) of protected bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University,” said Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto.
The Notice of Construction to remove the bike lanes comes two months after the Court of Appeal ruled in August that Premier Doug Ford’s government can rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes in Toronto along Bloor St., University Ave. and Yonge St., reversing a lower-court decision made in July 2025 – read more here.
Despite Mayor Olivia Chow repeatedly sharing designs and compromises with the province that would keep both vehicle and bike lanes intact, the Ford government walked away.
“Neither Premier Ford nor Minister Sarkaria has answered why their government walked away from a win-win offer from the city and Mayor Chow that would have restored traffic lanes while keeping bike lanes,” states a Cycle Toronto press release.
Following the protest Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria doubled down posting the following message on X, “Work to restore vehicle lanes on Bloor Street West was scheduled to begin tonight but was halted by protesters. Make no mistake: these bike lanes are coming out. We have a clear mandate and we will deliver.”
The Ford government has blamed bike lanes for the city’s congestion but a government-commissioned report by the engineering firm CIMA+ found that the removal of the bike lanes could increase collisions by 54% for all road users and would be unlikely to reduce congestion.
Once these lanes are removed, our safety is at risk,” said Shellnutt. “I take my kid to daycare here on the Bloor bike lanes. When that lane is removed, I will take her in my SUV and there you go, congestion is not solved.”
Activists like Robert Zaichkowski/Two Wheel Politics plan to publish open letters to two engineering firms involved with the removals – ATS Traffic and Verdi Alliance Civil – read more here.
A City of Toronto staff report from Nov. 2024 estimated the minimum direct cost of removing the 19km of bike lanes at $48 million, on top of the $27 million already spent installing them.
“Ripping out these protected bike lanes against the will of Toronto city council is a colossal waste of $48 million of taxpayer money,” noted Longfield.
Cycle Toronto and its co-applicants are being represented by Ecojustice, an environmental law charity, and Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP.
“We are asking the Supreme Court to hear this case in order to provide clarity about the scope of the rights to life and security of the person protected by Section 7 of the Charter,” said Bronwyn Roe, a staff lawyer with Ecojustice, at yesterday’s news conference. “We may seek a stay of the Ontario courts decision, pending appeal. But that wouldn’t stop the work that is going to start today. It could stop the work that is supposed to start, likely in the spring, on the remaining bike lanes.”
The battle for bike lanes continues in Toronto.
Read more about the All Out Protest Ride on Biking in a Big City here; and on Two Wheeled Politics here.
