More than 1,000 cyclists took over a stretch of Jarvis Street early Wednesday evening to protest City Council’s recent decision to remove the bike lanes on the busy route.

The Toronto Cyclists Union organized the event which got underway at 6:30 p.m. at Allan Gardens and ended up at City Hall.  Along the way they travelled down Jarvis Street, where the bike lane that currently sits is slated for removal.

"It's important to support cycling infrastructure, we don't actually live near Jarvis, but it's just appalling that they are taking lanes away," said Deborah Mewdell.

The plan for the rally began online, with the cyclists union urging cyclists to participate.

“While we move forward with protected bike lanes, the Ford administration sent a strong signal that cars matter more than people on bikes,” the group said on its website. “Let's send a message back.”

As of Wednesday morning, the bike union’s Facebook page had 1,131 RSVPs for the event.  

City Council voted in favour of removing the Jarvis bike lanes last Wednesday -- only a year after they were installed. The bike lanes cost $59,000 to install and will cost $200,000 to remove.

A staff report released in April found the number of cyclists on Jarvis had tripled from 300 to 900 within an eight-hour period. Removing the single lane delayed southbound drivers by about a minute.

Councillors did approve the Mayor’s Bike Plan -- a 100-kilometre network of trails connected by lanes on the street -- and a system of physically-separated lanes will be built on downtown streets, including the Bloor Viaduct, Sherbourne and Wellesley. Additional lanes on Richmond, Adelaide, Harbord and Beverley will also be considered.