Arrests made at Toronto bike lane removal protest

Demonstrators trying for a second day to block roadwork to remove Toronto bike lanes were met by police on Wednesday, deepening a faceoff between Premier Doug Ford’s government and cycling advocates. The work comes as the province pressed ahead with its plan to overhaul up to 19 kilometres of the city’s protected bike lane network, starting on the premier’s home turf in Etobicoke. The province has framed it as a traffic relief measure, but critics say it’s an example of provincial overreach that will make streets less safe, and no less congested. A protest Tuesday night ended peacefully when construction crews were escorted from Bloor Street by police and demonstrators chanted “get home safe” to the workers in trucks carrying stacks of pylons. But at Wednesday afternoon’s protest, at least one demonstrator in a green bike helmet was led away in handcuffs by two police officers.