I fully support this…

I fully support this legislation. The municipal government of Toronto has acted irresponsibly.

My recommendations are in two stages: the complete removal of bicycle lanes on Bloor (and Danforth,) University, and Yonge; or, if this is impractical, a staged removal of bicycles lanes in areas where they are clearly damaging traffic flow.

I fully support bicycle lanes where they make sense. On my commute, I encounter them on Annette and Harbord, and fully appreciate their effectiveness on those street.

They do not make sense where a) there is off-street parking and b) where there is a subway line.

I must also point out how dangerous bicycle lanes are, in complete disagreement with the arguments from bicycle-lane advocates. Anyone driving on Bloor Street, and, more importantly, trying to park on Bloor Street, knows that it is inherently dangerous for bicyclists to be in such close proximity to traffic. Bicycle lanes give untrained cyclists the false illusion of safety. They are not safe. Because they believe they are, or have adopted the attitude that they have more rights than motorists, they do stupid things, like veering into traffic to avoid obstacles. There will always be illegal parking in bicycle lanes on busy commercial throughways. There will always be cyclists veering out of bicycle lanes. In addition, the new form of parking on Bloor Street forces motorists exiting their cars to open their doors into traffic. The amount of space is razor-thin.

If full removal is not practical, at least remove the lanes from Bloor Street West of Keele, or at least West of Jane. In the west end, where I live, parking is off-street. In areas where parking is on-street, for most of the day, the traffic flows on one lane anyway, so the addition of bicycle lanes affects traffic only in rush hour. I also strongly advocate removal on University Avenue, where emergency vehicles are greatly impeded by these lanes. Both Bloor and University are streets where I drive regularly, so I can say without hesitation that these bicycles lanes are largely unused even in good weather. In the winter, they are completely unused. I cannot comment on Yonge Street or the Danforth, as I do not travel there.

Please act quickly to make Toronto a better place to live.