I strongly disagree with…

I strongly disagree with this proposal. I can appreciate that gridlock and traffic congestion place a burden on every major city. However, the proposed solution in Bill 212 regarding bike lane removal seems far too extreme for what it is worth.

Requiring municipalities to obtain provincial approval before implementing bike lanes that require traffic lane removal is not appropriate to be in the jurisdiction of the province. Municipal bike lane decisions do not seem like the type of thing that affects Ontarians at large, but the citizens of each municipality.

Requiring Toronto to remove any part of the bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, or University Avenue would be simultaneously an overstepping of jurisdiction by the province and a significant blow to a core part of Toronto's culture.

Improving the experience of bicycling in any city is good for the mental and physical health of the population and builds a stronger sense of community. It is accessible to those who cannot afford to drive. If anything, the provincial government should be improving bicycling infrastructure throughout Ontario to improve our health and reduce our environmental impact.

The province has not shown sufficient evidence that the proposed bike lane removals and added restrictions on traffic lane replacements will significantly benefit traffic congestion anywhere in Ontario. The province has not shown by how much traffic congestion is expected to be improved by.

The objectives laid out in this bill would be better achieved by directing our resources to improving the public transit and bicycling experience and incentivizing people to use those means of transportation. The province has not done enough in those areas.

This Bill also seems to be a Toronto bill framed as an Ontario bill, with other municipalities being unnecessarily as collateral.

The proposal will disproportionately affect underprivileged people who will have to continue biking, but will now be in much more dangerous road sharing situations throughout the province.