Dear Minister Sarkaria,…

Dear Minister Sarkaria,

Share the Road Cycling Coalition (The Coalition) is a charitable organization who works in partnership with municipal, provincial, and federal governments, the business community, road safety organizations and other non-profits. Together with its partners, Share the Road strives to enhance access for bicyclists on roads and trails, improve safety for all bicyclists, and educate citizens on the value and importance of safe bicycling for healthy lifestyles and healthy communities.

The Coalition wishes to express deep concerns related to the recently tabled Bill 212, “Reducing Gridlock Saving You Time Act”.

The scope of the legislation extends province-wide and the risks include the politicization and polarization of bike lanes which is something that we at the Share the Road Cycling Coalition (The Coalition) have worked very hard to prevent since our inception in 2007. Bill 212 risks undermining close to two decades of hard-won progress that The Coalition has worked with several partners to achieve.

Of particular note, Bill 212 restricts where new bike lanes can be built with the Premier stating that existing bike lanes will be removed from some streets before studies are completed. As well, existing bike lanes (where the removal of a lane of traffic took place) could also be under review, with the possibility of bike lanes being removed to return lanes to motor vehicle traffic.
Further, data cited on cycling mode share in Toronto (1.2%) is incorrect. In fact, recent studies have shown that Toronto has an average mode share of 7-9%, particularly in the core of the city in proximity of the three bike lane corridors highlighted by the province (Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue).

In addition to this data, last year The Coalition polled Ontarians about their cycling use show that 68 percent of Ontarians (9.8 million people) ride their bike at least monthly. Of those, 22 per cent of Ontarians (3.2 million) say they ride a bike frequently (daily or almost daily) and an additional 46 per cent report riding occasionally - weekly or monthly.

Ontarians are both cyclists and drivers: 87 per cent of Ontario’s 3.2 million frequent cyclists say they also drive frequently, while 85 per cent of Ontario’s 9.8 million occasional cyclists say this is the case. Our polling data also show that there is demand for cycling in Ontario: A majority (51 per cent) want to cycle more often with 70 percent of regular cyclists and 58 percent of occasional cyclists, indicating this preference.

There is strong support for action from the provincial government on cycling: 66 per cent of Ontarians believe that their government should allocate funds towards cycling infrastructure in order to make cycling a safer and more convenient mode of transportation. As well, 65 per cent of respondents felt that such investments would benefit cyclists and motorists.

This new omnibus highway Bill will fast-track the construction of Highway 413 by exempting provincial environmental assessments. Environmental assessments are critical to understanding the likely effects on the environment, and helping to avoid, reduce or offset negative effects. Reducing environmental risks protects the health of Ontarians, improves decision making processes, and ensures that construction projects are in the public interest.

Provincial support for bike lanes is important now more than ever to save lives, enhance livability, and reduce congestion.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak up on Bill 212.

Yours in safe cycling,
The Share the Road Cycling Coalition