According to the greenhouse…

According to the greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area published today, GHGs from transportation are increasing. Those increasing emissions are due to more people driving cars, not bicycles (The Atmospheric Fund, https://carbon.taf.ca/2023/sectors/transportation, 2024).

Making driving faster and more convenient results in more cars on the road, and more traffic. The solution to traffic gridlock, increasing carbon emissions, and air pollution is absolutely not adding more cars on the road.

Rather than wasting taxpayer dollars removing existing infrastructure that well-used and loved by the public, I suggest investing in more and better transit and infrastructure to support active transportation.

I use the Bloor bike lanes every day, at least twice, to take my children to school. Without that bike lane in place, we wouldn't feel safe enough to ride. It is the most joyful part of my day to see dozens of other families, children, seniors, people with disabilities, flooding the bike lanes instead of using cars. Many of those people are there because of how hard the City has worked to make cycling safer. The cycling network is a vision of a vibrant, connected, healthy, and beautiful city, and it's saving lives. And, there is no network that exists "on side streets." People on all modes of transportation need to reach the same locations that people in cars do.

The provincial government's overreach into municipal jurisdiction, and their intervention into decisions that have been made based on evidence and expert planning, is not welcome here. If the provincial government actually cares about "reducing red tape" I strongly recommend getting out of the way and letting the City do it's job.