The proposed legislation for…

The proposed legislation for bike lane approval and action to remove existing lanes is an overreach into municipal affairs. No other forms of road design are administered this way and adds a punitive layer of red tape and approvals that is not informed by fact. Municipalities have the mandate, budgetary responsibility, and expertise to make these decisions.

There is no objective evidence that bike lanes are a significant cause of gridlock in Ontario. There is no evidence in the proposed law or public comments by the minister that any fact based decision making and use of best practices to reduce road congestion have gone or will go into this decision making.

Futher, commitments to expedite highway expansion and support suburban sprawl to bedroom/commuter communities without a credible plan to create new urban centres is the actual source of congestion in urban roads. Without viable transit alternatives, such as high frequency regional rail service, light rail, and bus networks, Ontarians are forced to select car travel funnelled into already congested urban networks.

The law will contribute to Ontario's continued stagnation and is a misallocation of government resources and overreach into municipal affairs.