This is a purely political…

This is a purely political and emotional play that is a gargantuan waste of taxpayer money. Removing any physical transportation infrastructure is an ill conceived move that is not fiscally responsible and not supported by data.

Municipalities who are facing difficult financial challenges due in part to the downloading of services by a provincial government running a massive surplus have done cost benefit analysis and determined investments in bicycle infrastructure are more efficient at moving people in urban areas, make neighbourhoods safer for pedestrians, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support a more healthy population.

This Government’s own analysis clearly shows that removing bike lanes will not significantly improve traffic flows, and work done in Ontario and in other jurisdictions clearly shows that bike lanes improve traffic flow by taking cars off of the road.

This policy of infrastructure removal and wasting of public funds will not only not improve traffic, but will likely cause additional cyclist and pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

To get people moving in Ontario’s urban areas this provincial government should focus on delivering its own over budget and delayed transportation infrastructure projects that have significantly increased traffic during their never ending construction, not tearing down those already completed by municipalities.