I live in midtown Toronto…

I live in midtown Toronto and the cycle tracks have changed my life for the better. I can ride to work, run errands, visit friends and family, all on my bike. It keeps me fit, healthy, and the cycle tracks themselves give me a safe passage.

Taking the cycle tracks/bike lanes out will diminish my quality of life. My route to visit my sister on the Danforth will be much more dangerous. It will be harder to run errands because I will have to plan my routes more carefully and take circuitous, indirect routes if they offer a slightly safer passage.

I work in education and have students who also use the bike lanes to get around. They love the freedom, independence and exercise of using their bikes. Taking this away from them would be cruel and dangerous.

We need to make calmer, safer streets. Bike lanes are one piece of that puzzle and we know this thanks to data we’ve seen at the local level but also from cities around the world. It is straightforwardly good to install bike lanes on streets. It is good for business (just ask the Annex BIA who have announced this publicly based on their own data), and it is good for all road users — including drivers.