Bill 212 seems to be the…

Bill 212 seems to be the latest costly and ineffective piece of policy erupting from Queen's Park.

The destruction of bike lanes will not solve congestion that's due to construction or increased motorized vehicle use by an increasingly larger urban population. Tiny vehicles, like bikes, will address the gridlock. Furthermore, Bill 212 will put lives at risk of serious injury or even death. Who in their right mind would want to risk that?

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Ontario Professional Planners Institute, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, and Ontario Traffic Council have all come out against Bill 212.

120 physicians and researchers wrote a joint letter opposing Bill 212.

The words “safety” and “health” do not appear anywhere in the bike lane sections of Bill 212, and the only consideration to approve or remove bike lanes would be “the orderly movement of motor vehicle traffic.

It is false that only 1.2% of people bike to work in Toronto, and according to the province’s still confidential data, nearly 10% of all trips in the city that end in downtown Toronto are taken by bike or other micromobility vehicles.

For bike lanes on Bloor, University, and Yonge, there are no feasible parallel alternate routes that wouldn’t also result in the conversion of motor vehicle lanes.

The estimated financial impact is $48 million (but that's probably a conservative figure) in additional costs to provincial taxpayers for the removal of bike lanes on Bloor, University, and Yonge alone. That seems to be unacceptably poor financial management in my opinion. As a taxpayer, I cannot agree with that when we have so many other pressing societal needs.

Thank you.