I stand firmly against Bill…

I stand firmly against Bill 212.

As someone who cycles in Toronto – to commute to work, run errands, and to explore the city with friends – I am grateful for the safety bike lanes provide. I am urging you to reject Bill 212 and to:

1. Ensure bikes lanes are not obstructed as a matter of ongoing public safety, not just periodic blitzes, and accelerate implementing automated enforcement parking programs and explore other reporting processes with an equity focused lens

2. Prioritize construction zone safety, including maintaining dedicated cycling facilities, eliminating road hazards, tougher penalties for failing to comply, and a creating a “mobility squad” to ensure obstacle-free travel on the city’s streets

3. Accelerate and expand our cycling network of connected bikeways to enable more people to feel safe to choose to ride a bike

Our safety depends on it.

Recently, a 24-year-old woman was killed by the driver of a large truck while she was trying to maneuver around a blocked bike lane. Her death is a tragic reminder that even along one of our busiest bikeways that sees thousands of cyclists a day, and in which one can travel almost exclusively on protected bike lanes, one unsafe segment can quickly turn one cyclist’s commute into a tragedy. I regularly encounter bike lanes blocked by parked cars or from construction chaos, and too often I’ve been told that it’s no big deal and to “just go around”. My own safety often seems like an inconvenience.

I was also heartbroken to hear Alex Amaro’s parents share the loss of their daughter, who was tragically killed while riding her bike on a busy road without bike lanes. Their message was clear: "Bike lanes could have saved our daughter."

Alex’s parents recounted how Alex was struck by three cars while riding home on Dufferin Street in December 2020, after a quick trip to the mall. Their courage in reliving this tragedy is inspiring, and their story highlights the human cost of inadequate cycling infrastructure.

As grieving parents, George Amaro and Karen Orme cannot understand how your government can consider legislation that would remove or block new bike lanes on streets like Bloor, University, and Yonge. George Amaro said, "It’s about safety. Politics should not be involved when it comes to somebody’s life."

Six people riding bikes have been killed on Toronto’s streets in 2024 alone—more than in the previous three years combined. Every death is a family’s unbearable loss, and each new tragedy reopens old wounds for those who have already suffered. As Karen Orme expressed: "For the rest of our life, having to deal with the grief that we know personally, that all of these families and their friends are going through. And we don’t wish that on anyone. It is horrific."

Please reconsider Bill 212. Our roads should be safe for everyone, not just people driving. Please work with municipalities to implement data-driven solutions that can address both traffic safety and congestion. As George Amaro poignantly stated: "We don’t want just motorists to get home to their families faster, we want everybody to get home to their families... we never had that with our daughter. She never got home to us."