What to know
- Toronto biking lawyer David Shellnutt has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support people arrested during protests against bike lane removals.
- The campaign has a fundraising goal of $35,000, with $25,850 raised at the time of publication.
- Funds are intended to help cover legal support, bike damage and expenses such as snacks and coffee for protesters.
- Four people have been arrested in connection with the demonstrations so far, according to the article. Police have alleged offences including mischief and obstructing a peace officer.
- Demonstrations continue as crews remove bike lane infrastructure along Bloor Street West following an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that cleared the way for the work to proceed.
A biking lawyer and advocate has started a campaign to raise money to support those arrested during an ongoing bike lane removal protest in Toronto.
Tensions over bike lanes continue this week, as demonstrators continue to take over Bloor Street West to protest the removal of the infrastructure after the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a court decision that prevented the provincial government from carrying out the work.
Read More
Over a week into the demonstrations, David Shellnutt has launched a GoFundMe campaign that aims to raise donations to fund legal support for the four people that have been arrested in the protest so far.
A link to the campaign states that funds will be shared among those in need of support and to cover bike damage associated with the protests, as well as snacks and coffee for those who attend them. Funds will be administered by the organizers of the protests, including The Biking Lawyer LLP and Friends and Families for Safe Streets.
The Biking Lawyer LLP is also said to be in charge of coordinating legal services and connecting those affected by the protest to injury lawyers.
So far, the campaign has raised $25,850 by the time of publication, with a total goal of $35,000.
4 people arrested so far
Since work to remove the bike lanes started last Tuesday, four people have been arrested.
According to the Toronto Police Service (TPS), 29-year-old Prajjwal Rajawat, of Toronto, was arrested for Mischief – Interfere with Property and Obstruct Police in the Bloor Street West and Islington Avenue area on Monday, Oct. 19.
Police alleges Rajawat and other protesters entered the bike lane while road work to remove the curb barriers that separate the bike lane was underway. He then allegedly sat on one of the barriers and refused to leave the area, even after being warned to do so by officers multiple times.
Days earlier, on Oct. 15, Toronto paralympian Aly Van Wyck-Smart, 24, was charged with Mischief – Interfere with the lawful use of property and Obstruct Peace Officer during a demonstration at Bloor Street West and Royal York Road.
Police alleges Wyck-Smart, who was in a wheelchair, positioned herself on one of the bike lane barriers, interfering with the removal, and also refused to leave the area after being asked to do so multiple times. It is also alleged she then left the wheelchair to move to the middle of the bike lane to impede the road work from continuing. She was then arrested.
Two other residents had already been arrested in connection with the protest before then.
These include Hamilton resident Nina Thi Thi Tran, 25, who is also alleged to have sat on one of the barriers to block the ongoing work and refused to comply with officers’ instructions to leave the area. She was arrested for Obstruct Peace Officer and Mischief Under on Oct. 14.
Later that day, Khoa Thanh Phan, 20, was also charged with Mischief – Interfere with lawful use of property and theft under $5,000. He was accused of removing a municipal sign in the Lothian Avenue and Bloor Street West area and attempting to leave before police stopped him.
Protests over the bike lane removal are still ongoing as crews continue to take down the infrastructure, with one demonstration scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Tom Riley Park Bloor Green P.
