Hello! I have been a…

Hello!

I have been a resident and cycling commuter in London, Ontario, since 2017. Before moving to London, I also commuted regularly by bike in Barrie, Guelph, Toronto, and Montreal since 2013. This means that my primary mode of transportation (to go to work, run errands, visit family and friends, and have fun in town), is a mechanical bicycle. My average trip is five kilometers (~15 minutes), and my average number of trips per week is eight. I choose to live near the downtown core of London to be close to the places I frequent, including my workplace, the co-op where I volunteer, the homes of my friends, and many restaurants, bars, music venues, shopping areas, and parks. I pay income taxes to the province, pay property taxes on my home, and otherwise spend a good chunk of my net income on the essential and leisurely goods and services that my city has to offer, all while riding that bicycle to get places, often with my young child in tow. Together, my wife and I own one motor vehicle, which we primarily use for out of city travel when the grossly underfunded intercity public transit options do not meet our needs. If the weather or cycling distance is too cumbersome on a given occasion, we take municipal public transit (bus) or walk to our destination.

Bill 60 proposes some Highway Traffic Act (HTA) amendments and other clauses which will limit the ability for municipalities to decide when and where to get rid of a motor vehicle lanes in favour of an alternative use of public space, such as the installation of cycling lanes, dedicated public transportation lanes, restaurant seating patios, pedestrian spaces, and mini parks. City halls will be barred by the provincial government from making their own decisions about what their communities want and need, and options that are better, long-term, for safety, transportation equity, and environmental sustainability.

The proposed amendments to the HTA threaten other uses of public road space that communities rely on, including transit priority, safe crossings, patios, curbside access, and school streets. This insistence on and expansion of personal motor vehicle travel worsens traffic congestion — not reduce it. Your government’s own experts have consistently said that bike lanes, for example, are not a cause of gridlock and that the real culprit is too many residents choosing to travel by car. Building bike lanes and funding public transit improvements gives your constituents more options for travel. Some will inevitably choose alternatives to the car, meaning traffic will be reduced for those who still need or choose to drive, and everyone is happy. However, removing bike lanes, or preventing them from being built, makes roadways more dangerous. Protected bike lanes, especially, prevent serious injuries and deaths for people biking, walking, and driving, as they help to silo road users by their modes, preventing conflicts. There are details within Bill 60 which undermine climate goals and public health by locking cities into car-dependent street designs rather than leading the way to an equitable transportation plan where we all reduce our fossil fuel output (and collective road rage and frustration) by walking, pedaling and sharing more. It's not that "driving cars is bad, period." It's that "everybody driving cars every time" results in a worse quality of life for all residents of a city.

Local democracy and decision-making must be respected. Here in the Forest City, the Dundas Place flex street is a humongous success story that pulled us out of the COVID-19 isolation lull to experience each other's sub-cultures and passions, first by the installation of multiple eatery patios and later by becoming an outdoor event venue. Formerly nothing more than four blocks of single-lane, two-way motor vehicle travel occupied by a mix of cars and buses travelling at 40 km/h and edged by free parking and a sidewalk curb, Dundas Place is now a flex street corridor that hosts community events almost every weekend from May to October. These events fuel the local economy and invigorate businesses and non-profits doing good work. London suspended the "driver convenience above all" mentality this bill represents to create a flex street that is now a better use of public space, allowing us to dance salsa and bachata, find crafts at a night market, experience concerts and theatre, collectively watch the London Knights win the Memorial Cup and, in my case, bring the Forest City Slow Roll all-ages-and-abilities bike ride to my fellow residents. Legislations like Bill 60 would have made it way harder or impossible for the City of London to move forward with the Dundas Place project, leaving its residents to miss out on the cultural exchanges and safe use of that street that we see today.

Bill 60's proposals on transportation echo those of Bill 212 from several months back, a bill that faced public backlash and lawsuits. Don't make the same mistake again. Dedicated bike and bus lanes reduce congestion and increase safety. Cars aren't the tool for every transportation job and non-drivers deserve a fairer share. Let's beautify our communities, not let car brain blow smoke on our judgment. Let each municipality choose whether diversifying a roadway is right for them.