I am a resident of Toronto…

I am a resident of Toronto who is strongly opposed to the proposed Bill 212. I urge Premier Ford and the MPPs not to pass this act which will, contrary to its stated goals, be a massive waste of money and cause even worse traffic in some of Toronto's main thoroughfares.

I lived nearby Bloor during the bike lane construction and was indeed annoyed by the congestion, although it never came close to the levels of gridlock seen in transit corridors like the 401 and Gardiner. Having gone through this construction once it seems ludicrous to go through it again, especially seeing as Toronto City Council has estimated the removal will take years to plan and 9 months (which in contractor terms means 1+ years) to actually execute, in addition to a cost of 48 million. How is this how we're spending our transit-related money, while the TTC regularly breaks down and Metrolinx still hasn't established regular coverage across the province?

Again I want to emphasize the wastefulness of taking out infrastructure that has already been paid for and put into place - and is seeing usage! The City's report on bike usage along the main bike lanes targeted by Bill 212 has seen increases of up to 600% - a classic case of build it and they will come. And lets face it, with climate change coming and our winters only getting milder, cycling is becoming more of a viable transportation method than ever before. Removing infrastructure only to return to a state of being that already didn't work is absolute folly, a waste of taxpayer money and government time.

Please Premier Ford, don't take us backward and don't waste our money.