Anthony Furey: Ford, Bradford on the right side of the bike lane issue

Read the original at National Post ↗
Cite

Kline, J. (2026, October 18). Anthony Furey: Ford, Bradford on the right side of the bike lane issue. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ford-bradford-on-the-right-side-of-the-bike-lane-issue

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

National Post · collected 2026-10-18 · by Jesse Kline analysis

Quick Summary

Anthony Furey discusses the controversy surrounding the removal of bike lanes in Toronto by the provincial government, focusing on the section of Bloor Street in suburban Etobicoke. He argues that returning these lanes to vehicle use is a common-sense move for an area heavily dependent on cars and where bike lane usage was minimal. The article highlights protests against this decision, with three activists being arrested, and criticizes cycling advocates for aggressive behavior towards construction workers. Furey supports the provincial government's action, which he believes reflects a shift from prioritizing special interests to serving all city residents efficiently.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of late October 2026, the Ontario provincial government began removing bike lanes from Bloor Street in suburban Etobicoke, returning them to vehicle lanes. This decision is seen as a response to heavy car traffic and low bike lane usage on this major thoroughfare. However, three protesters were arrested during demonstrations against the removal, with police deployed to protect construction workers. The incident highlights the ongoing debate over urban transportation priorities in Toronto, particularly ahead of an upcoming municipal election where voter sentiment towards such changes is expected to play a significant role. Cycling activists argue that removing bike lanes prioritizes car use at the expense of sustainable transportation options.

Written for “Bike Lane Issue Debate” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly right (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly right for article 88542 (high confidence, 6 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-18

Story

📰 Bike Lane Issue Debate
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Tempers flare as Bloor Street bike lane removal begins in Etobicoke different event · 95%
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⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 2 of 29 📰 publisher trust 63
“Article A describes a specific protest and arrest during the removal of bike lanes on October 14, while Article B discusses the broader political context and motivation behind the lane removal decision.”
Why Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford supporters see Toronto as 'two different cities' different event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 6% hedged 2 of 31 📰 publisher trust 63
“The articles discuss different aspects of Toronto's politics and urban planning, with Article A focusing on voter priorities for mayoral candidates and Article B addressing bike lane removal in suburban Etobicoke.”
Tackling Toronto congestion may be a key issue for mayoral candidates, but it’s not all bad different event · 95%
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 18% hedged 6 of 34 📰 publisher trust 52
“Article A discusses general traffic congestion trends, while Article B focuses on the removal of bike lanes, addressing different aspects of transportation issues.”
Cyclists ask Supreme Court to weigh in on Toronto bike lane removal plan different event · 85%
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 6 📰 publisher trust 52
“Article A discusses the legal challenge and appeal regarding bike lane removal, while Article B comments on the actual start of removing bike lanes, which are different specific events.”
Toronto cyclists ask Canada's top court to weigh in on Ford's bike lane removal plan different event · 75%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 63
“Article A reports on cyclists asking Canada's top court to hear their appeal against bike lane removal, while Article B discusses the provincial government beginning to remove bike lanes along Bloor Street in suburban Etobicoke.”
Cycling advocates rally, petition Supreme Court to rule on Toronto bike-lane removal different event · 50%
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 2 of 43 📰 publisher trust 52
“Article A discusses the planned removal of bike lanes and public reaction on October 14th, while Article B mentions the provincial government starting to remove bike lanes in suburban Etobicoke a few days later.”
Bike lanes may seem to be a local Toronto issue, but here's why they're important to the nation different event · 50%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 20% hedged 7 of 35 📰 publisher trust 63
“While both articles discuss the removal of bike lanes in Toronto, they describe different phases or aspects of the process rather than the exact same occurrence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
National Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

National Post · 967 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Jesse Kline
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The removal of bike lanes in Toronto will surely serve as a motivator for many voters in the municipal election that’s a little over a week away.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Anthony Furey: Ford, Bradford on the right side of the bike lane issue
🔮 Many parents will tell you how hard it is to find a daycare spot of any type close to Vancouver.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Adam Pankratz: Eby’s campaign goes from bad to worse with daycare fiasco
🔮 Former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander unexpectedly joined the Toronto mayoral race on July 29.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Michael Taube: With Alexander out of the Toronto mayoral race, Brad Bradford is in the driver’s seat
🔮 Before Moise could answer, the constituent did so for him: “Because they don’t allow that.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Derek Finkle: Toronto election a choice between drug-fuelled crime and safe streets
🔮 If Tehran can disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — which carried roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil before the war — could the Houthis also threaten the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for about 12 per cent of global maritime trade?
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Mohamed Fahmy: Iran rains terror on Yemen to cut off Saudi oil shipments
🔮 But recent events hint at something much darker: an institutional willingness to downplay or minimize harms caused to Jews, including those living right here in Canada.
2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Jesse Kline: CBC shows anti-Jewish bias with suspension of Neil Herland
🔮 Shortly after becoming mayor of Toronto in 2010, Rob Ford tried to reduce the amount of the city’s municipal land transfer tax (LTT).
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Anthony Furey: Now’s the time to scrap Toronto’s land transfer tax
🔮 Those accusations may have landed well on Findlay, but they are not sticking to Doerkson, who is widely respected as a salt-of-the-earth, earnest British Columbian.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Adam Pankratz: Eby shoots himself in the foot with cynical election call
🔮 But he’s unlikely to cross paths with the city’s Israel-obsessed Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called for the premier’s arrest on numerous occasions.
2026-09-23 · mixed framing · David Kaufman: Mamdani’s anti-Netanyahu provocations could plunge New York into chaos
🔮 When the Government of British Columbia announced in the spring that it was planning to open a supervised consumption site in downtown Vancouver, the city’s mayor, Ken Sim, issued a strongly worded statement opposing the idea and moved an urgent motion directing city staff to “use all tools available” to block it.
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Also by Jesse Kline
Adam Pankratz: Eby’s campaign goes from bad to worse with daycare fiasco
2026-10-13 · National Post
Michael Taube: With Alexander out of the Toronto mayoral race, Brad Bradford is in the driver’s seat
2026-10-08 · National Post
Derek Finkle: Toronto election a choice between drug-fuelled crime and safe streets
2026-10-08 · National Post
Mohamed Fahmy: Iran rains terror on Yemen to cut off Saudi oil shipments
2026-10-04 · National Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Jesse Kline →

Topics

Etobicoke Ontario Toronto Transportation the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

Subjects

Toronto GPE · 3× Chow PERSON · 2× Olivia Chow PERSON · 2× Ontario GPE · 2× Brad Bradford PERSON · 1× Bradford PERSON · 1× Etobicoke GPE · 1× Prabmeet Sarkaria PERSON · 1× Transportation ORG · 1× the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario ORG · 1×

Narrative

That’s always been the challenge with the bike lobby, though — they aggressively demand that the roads be retooled to their personal preference and then petulantly act out and hurl abuse at anyone who doesn’t step in line.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 The removal of bike lanes in Toronto will surely serve as a motivator for many voters in the municipal election that’s a little over a week away.
2026-10-18 · National Post
Anthony Furey: Ford, Bradford on the right side of the bike lane issue · assertive framing

Claims (28 extracted, 1 hedged)

The removal of bike lanes in Toronto will surely serve as a motivator for many voters in the municipal election that’s a little over a week away. asserted
that → serve → election
The whole issue symbolizes the question the electorate now faces: do we want to continue letting Toronto literally come to a halt to serve limited special interests, or can we make it a city that works for everyone? asserted
that → symbolize → everyone
The other day, the provincial government began removing the bike lanes on Bloor Street and returning them to vehicle lanes. asserted
government → begin → lanes
This is just common sense, given that the stretch of Bloor where work began in suburban Etobicoke is a heavily car-dependent area, and Bloor is a major thoroughfare. asserted
Bloor → give → Etobicoke
Moreover, the bike lanes were rarely used. asserted
lanes → use → ?
That didn’t stop belligerent cycling activists from making a rare journey out to the suburbs to harass the construction workers tasked with lane removals. asserted
That → stop → removals
Police officers were assigned to monitor the situation and protect the workers so they could do their jobs. uncertain
they → assign → jobs
Three protesters have been arrested. asserted
protesters → arrest → ?
That’s always been the challenge with the bike lobby, though — they aggressively demand that the roads be retooled to their personal preference and then petulantly act out and hurl abuse at anyone who doesn’t step in line. asserted
who → demand → line
For too long, city hall has acquiesced to them, and Toronto’s ability to be a truly inclusive city that facilitates the efficient movement of people and goods has been sacrificed in favour of ideology. asserted
that → acquiesce → ideology
Much of the latest bike lane expansion happened when citizens literally weren’t watching — when people were staying at home during the COVID pandemic. asserted
people → happen → pandemic
At the time, city hall removed 40 kilometres of vehicle lanes on major roads and replaced them with bike lanes. asserted
hall → remove → lanes
Mayor Olivia Chow’s administration has since tried to supercharge the bike lane grid. asserted
administration → try → grid
For years, Chow was well-known for biking around the downtown core with her signature bike adorned with flyers on its basket. asserted
Chow → know → basket
But it’s one thing to bike around downtown on side streets and bike lanes on secondary roads; it’s quite another to force these lanes on major suburban commuter roads. asserted
it → ’ → roads
Chow’s lead challenger in the mayoral election is Coun. Brad Bradford, who agrees with the province’s plans to remove bike lanes and says he’ll instead put them on secondary roads. asserted
he → agree → roads
Bradford has faced criticism for previously voting in favour of bike lanes in 2023. asserted
Bradford → face → 2023
He says that he’s now changed his views after watching the ramifications. asserted
he → say → ramifications
This sort of non-ideological approach to policymaking should be applauded. asserted
sort → applaud → policymaking
The Ontario government knows it’s on the right side of this issue and that it has many supporters. asserted
it → know → supporters
Following the protests, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario sent out an email to supporters signed by Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria. asserted
Party → follow → Sarkaria
“Starting this week, we’re restoring vehicle lanes on Bloor Street West,” Sarkaria wrote. asserted
Sarkaria → start → West
“The people of Ontario gave us a clear mandate to tackle the traffic that’s costing our economy over $56 billion a year. asserted
that → give → billion
The province is clearly not backing down and hasn’t been deterred by the protesters. asserted
province → back → protesters
If activists next want to get arrested on Yonge Street — where bike lanes notoriously make it hard for emergency vehicles to pass during rush hour — then so be it. asserted
it → want → hour
We’ll also learn how many people the agitators actually count among their ranks. asserted
agitators → learn → ranks
Can they motivate enough supporters to get out and vote for Olivia Chow based on this issue, in what’s now proving to be a tight race? asserted
what → motivate → issue
What’s more likely is that the removal of the lanes has put a quiet smile on the faces of the silent majority, who have had enough. asserted
who → ’ → enough
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