I drive across Toronto from…

I drive across Toronto from the East end to Etobicoke and back for my commute and understand the challenges and frustrations around gridlock and traffic. Seeking to remedy this is certainly a worthwhile goal.

Having said that, the sole reason I drive to work is that it takes 3 times as long to travel the 20km by transit and there is inadequate bicycling infrastructure to allow me to safely use my bike to do the same. Every day I wish I wasn't driving.

I am forced to be on the roads due to inadequate alternatives - I would happily not drive and save the money, time and traffic headaches I encounter on a daily basis. Taking me and people like me off the road is a tangible way to fix traffic. Save the traffic space I occupy for those commuting from afar.

I know that many in the city of Toronto are in the same boat. The fewer options apart from driving that exist, the more cars are on the road. There is no end in sight - we have more people arriving every year who encounter the same choice - it simply makes no sense to choose either of the non-car alternatives right now. Until or unless that changes, traffic will never, ever get better no matter how many lanes you try and add. This seems to have been proven time and again around the world.

It is a profound waste of time and money to remove bike lanes in municipalities. Trying to improve my drive is pointless - help me get off the road! Put funding into transit and leave the bike lanes alone.

On the latter point, when I am driving in the city, it's far better for me to have bikers on their own dedicated pathway than weaving in and out of live traffic. Why waste money putting them back in my way? They're not going to go away, it's just going to become less safe for all.

On an entirely different point, exempting Highway 413 from the Environmental Assessment Act sounds like a profoundly bad idea. I'm all for cutting red tape but that's not the sort of red tape the province needs to work on. Building for the future means considering the future, not just today's convenience.