Ontario completes bike lane removal on section of Bloor Street W.

So, they're gone, and Ontario's Transportation Minister is defending his government's removal of the Bloor Street bike lanes near Royal York, saying the province plans to continue ripping out lanes at several other major arteries. News Park reporter Sean Jeffords has the details. Bikelanes on Bloor today as the Ford government's removal of cycling lanes in the street is done. A live lane of traffic for cars is restored. And Ontario's Transportation Minister is defending the controversial decision. Prabmeet Sarkaria did a round of media interviews today to announce the completion of the work on Bloor Street West. For us, we're not anti-bike lanes. Work on the kilometre stretch took weeks to complete and was beset by protests. Three people were arrested, but the minister says that will not deter the Ford government. This is all lawful activity that's being undertaken by the government. We passed the legislation, we campaigned on it, we were very transparent about it. The province is currently searching for contractors to remove another 17 kilometers of lanes. Some are on another stretch of Bloor Street. Others are on busy parts of Yonge Street and University Avenue. This is just a portion of the removal that was put into place. We have more work that is going to continue in the next construction cycle. Sarkaria says the province has a mandate to rip out the lanes after winning the snap election in 2025. But Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow was re-elected on Monday, receiving more than half a million votes. A long-time cyclist herself, she was vocal in her opposition to Ontario's plan to rip out the lanes. We have worked very well with the mayor on a variety of issues. This is an issue that we will, you know, agree to disagree on. The Ford government has been locked in a protracted court battle to remove the lanes. They lost an initial lower court decision, but in August, an appeal court ruled Ontario could rip out the lanes. Cycle Toronto, which spearheaded the challenge, has applied to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. But in the meantime, the group's executive director says the lane removal today will make city roads less safe. The minister and the province are trying to do some kind of victory lap about this, and to be honest, I think it's a kind of a shameful moment for their government. The leader of the Green Party says the Ford government has the wrong priorities. They've wasted millions of dollars that could be spent on projects to make people's lives more affordable and they've made the streets of Toronto less safe. The province says it intends to move ahead with the removal of the remaining bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University Avenue. That work could begin as soon as this spring. Sean Jeffords, CBC News, Toronto.