This bill will do absolutely…

This bill will do absolutely nothing to reduce congestion in any meaningful way. If that was the goal, it would contain a mix of improvements for far more than just cars (significantly more money for public transit which Ottawa has been begging for, significantly more money to repair sidewalks and build new sidewalks for pedestrians and those with mobility impairments, more money for more bike lanes, etc.) Simply put, there are too many cars on the road as under investment in all non-car infrastructure has resulted in an extremely car-centric Ontario (and North America, really). Treating bike lanes as boogey men is an absurd tactic when removing them will just lead to more cars and more street parking, furthering induced demand and resulting in yet even more traffic. Who will the next boogey man be at that point when this inevitably fixes nothing?

This bill is even more ridiculous when it has language allowing the government to essentially bypass the full environmental assessment of Highway 413, as well as freeze increases to driving test fares (which just makes drive tests more affordable and therefore, more people getting licences and more cars on the road).

I live in downtown Ottawa. I do not own a car as I centred my life to not require one. I take public transit and I walk/bike everywhere. There are so few places in this province where people can live like this, and even where I live I am almost hit by cars when crossing streets as a pedestrian or when cars park in bike lanes every week. This bill will do nothing to improve my safety as it only emboldens this type of behaviour.

This bill is yet another heap of divisive nonsense that distracts from the real issues facing this province (lack of healthcare funding, spiralling out of control rents, etc.). For once, I wish this government would actually put forward a bold vision. Instead it's just been millions wasted to get beer in corner stores early, pot shops spread out on every corner, gambling advertisements everywhere, and now a war on bike lanes.

Have a soul and scrap this horrible policy that will just worsen the environmental decline that a fully car-centric society drives.