10/22/2026
Protesters came out again on Wednesday for the second night of milling and paving along the 1 km stretch of Bloor Street West between Islington and Royal York. A peaceful die-in was held in front of the “Blood Bikes” sculpture before police moved participants along. Buoyed by misleading social media posts, Toronto Police Service continues to waste resources to accelerate the removal of life-saving infrastructure.
This time, police wore PPE (good) and catch basins were covered (also good), confirming that the previous night’s work wasn’t done according to protocol. Verdi Alliance continues to obscure their vehicles and has shuttered their social media accounts, indicative of their shame of being involved in the province's reckless and arbitrary scheme.
The last of the physical infrastructure is gone. Over the coming days, crews will restripe the road to restore the car lanes. Who will Premier Ford and Minister Sarkaria blame when traffic doesn't improve remains to be seen.
18 km of bike lanes targeted by the province still remain. Removal of those lanes wouldn't start until spring 2027 at the earliest, pending RFP submissions. Cycle Toronto has asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear our case, and we should have news ahead of any future deconstructions. The rest of Bloor, Yonge, and University are safe for now.
For now, we’re advising supporters to cease organized protests during the road work. It's time to rest and regroup.
The past ten days have been a whirlwind. Everyone should be incredibly proud of how we peacefully and lawfully resisted together. The city, the province, and the world are watching.
We're not done.
Election day is coming up, and even with this unprecedented provincial interference, your vote matters.
📸: Joshua Best
