I am strongly opposed to…

I am strongly opposed to this proposal. As a cyclist who rides on a daily basis, I feel like this proposal is a direct attack on me and my safety. The government claims that bike lanes the cause of gridlock, and removing them will 'get driver where they need to go faster'. However, this opinion is misinformed for multiple reasons:

1. New bike lanes have not been shown to cause longer travel times. There are many other factors increasing travel times, including: more cars on the road post-pandemic, increased construction projects. Bike lanes actually can help reduce travel times by taking cars off the road. If there is better cycling infrastructure, commuters are more likely to take their bike to work, instead of their car. This removes a car from the traffic, which will reduce congestion.
2. New bike lanes have not been shown to increase emergency response times. Emergency services of Toronto have not reported increased response times for calls.
3. Adding more lanes of traffic will just encourage more people to drive, and will increase congestion.

Bike lanes have other benefits as well, regardless of traffic and congestion:
- safety for cyclists and drivers. With separated bike lanes, collisions between cyclists and cars decrease. Cyclists have been seriously injured and have died previously, due to collisions with cars. Everyone should have a right to get to work, and move around the city safely. Many use a bike because they cannot afford a car and it's associated costs (parking, gas etc.). By removing bike lanes, it is showing the province that the government cares more about drivers than they do cyclists. Cyclist fatalities and serious injuries will increase with the removal of bike lanes.
- reduced environmental impact. With better cycling infrastructure, more people are likely to ride their bike, instead of taking a car. This lowers emissions, which is beneficial for the environment.
- health - cycling is better for the health of Ontarians. The government should be encouraging more people to cycle, which could have downstream affects on health and health care costs.

Ripping up already existing bike lanes has the following negative impacts:
- Cost: there has already been a cost to install these bike lanes - the cost to remove them will be even higher. We are already in a deficit.
- Construction congestion: while these bike lanes are being removed, there will be extra lanes of traffic closed for construction. This will actually increase congestion.

Telling cyclists to use side streets on their commute is not a practical solution. Many of the sidestreets end after a few blocks, and cyclists are forced to zig zag through the neighbourhoods. This increases their travel time. Why is it more important for a driver to decrease their travel time, while a cyclist is forced to increase theirs? This proposal is not equitable and is putting driver's priority above the rest of the population.

The use of bikes has increased significantly over the last 5 years, which is when the majority of these bike lanes have been installed. Why do we want to move backwards?