This legislation is short…

ERO number

019-9266

Comment ID

103019

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Individual

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Comment

This legislation is short sighted and does not have studies and data supporting the identified goals. Municipalities provide bike lanes and remove vehicle lanes where studies and demands have deemed them necessary for the safety of their active transportation commuters who require affordable modes of transportation or opted for low environmental impact modes of transportation (which in turn reduce congestion because they are not contributing to the congestion by choosing to cycle between destinations).

Provincial approval authority for the installation of new bike lanes on municipal roads is the province overstepping municipal mandates.

Here is an example of how bike lanes are a more effective use of space:
Reviewing a meter of complete street (St that has a road, a dedicated bike lane and side walk), over the course of on hour thee can be 1000-2000 mixed traffic vehicles, 7500 cyclists, and 9000 pedestrians. By removing the bike lane we ae either forcing those 7000 cyclists into vehicles or on the road on their bikes; both of which increases congestion. Taking half the cyclists does not accommodate double the road capacity. (3000 cyclists>2000 mixed use vehicles).

Additionally in increase in vehicle traffic is an increased maintenance cost on roads and highways. The more people you can get taking alternative modes of transit decreases wear and tear on roads and extends the lifespan of existing infrastructure.

I took 2 classes in university on transportation as a Civil Engineer; and one of the first things they teach you is that increased lanes does nor decrease congestion. It is clear that that this proposed Bill is not based on studies, engineering or lessons learned from cities of western society.

Please consult experts when providing supporting documents; provide examples of best practices that have seen success and stop pandering to more drivers and provide reasonable afterlives such as rail, alternative cycling routes, buses, car sharing, & electric scooters and stop micromanaging municipalities that have already done all the studies, stakeholder consultations and tendering of services.