Toronto city council is meeting to discuss a controversial plan to transform Eglinton Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly street once construction of a multibillion-dollar light rail line is complete.

City planners’ vision for Eglinton includes wide sidewalks, separated bike lanes and laneways for things such as garbage collection or loading, but the plan is being criticized by Mayor Rob Ford and residents, who worry the changes would take away lanes of traffic or impede motorists.

Before the meeting, Ford held a news conference on Eglinton Avenue to explain why he opposes the plan, but his event was overshadowed by a small group of protesters from a group that calls itself the "shirtless horde."

Protester John Furr, who wasn't wearing a shirt, repeatedly yelled "Resign" and "Why don't you resign?" as Ford spoke to reporters. Despite being heckled, Ford kept reading from his statement and didn't appear to be thrown off.

“They can protest all they want," Ford said in response to a reporter's question. "All I’m doing is saving taxpayers money, keeping the traffic flowing.”

Toronto police arrived a short time later to monitor the situation.

Ford’s chief of staff, Dan Jacobs, told CP24 police were called because he was shoved and “elbowed aside” when he asked a member of the public to step onto the sidewalk and off the street. The mayor's office denied claims that Ford's sobriety coach, Bob Marier, kicked a protester.

The unusual protest group formed after a shirtless jogger heckled the mayor during a Canada Day event in East York. Furr has expressed his support for mayoral candidate Olivia Chow on Twitter. A spokesperson for Chow's election team said Furr does not have any official involvement with the campaign.

While Furr heckled him, Ford's voice could barely be heard as he explained why he wants council to reject the plan during a vote at Tuesday's meeting. Ford claims the Eglinton transformation would create "traffic chaos" because it would reduce the "already congested" avenue to one lane in each direction and divert traffic onto residential streets.

In response to the study’s critics, Toronto’s chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, told reporters Monday that there is confusion surrounding the plan and it would not shrink Eglinton Avenue down to one lane of traffic in each direction.

Construction of the $5-billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT is scheduled to wrap up in 2020 and the city has already spent a few years studying how to turn the avenue into a mixed-use corridor. The ongoing study is called Eglinton Connects.

Meanwhile, Ford is attending his first council meeting since he left a rehab facility north of Toronto.

This week’s agenda includes a motion that was tabled by Coun. Paula Fletcher in response to a news conference Ford held when he returned to work June 30.

The mayor prevented some members of the media from attending the event.

Fletcher’s motion says no member of council, including the mayor, should be allowed to hold a news conference on city property if members of the press gallery are barred from attending.

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