Premier Ford and Ontario…

Premier Ford and Ontario members of the Legislature,
I am a senior citizen automobile driver living in Niagara Falls, with adult adult child and his family living in Toronto. I personally do not ride a bicycle on even side city streets in Niagara Falls due to a justified concern with sharing even side streets safely with automobiles. I avoid as many car trips as possible and walk to destinations when possible. I am proud of my city of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region as they have created many bike lanes and paths for the safety of bicycle riders over the last decade and are planning to increase this initiative.
But more importantly the bike lanes are creating a mind set for the current and future generations that bike riding is a better way of moving in the city which doesn't pollute nor add to climate change. Reducing the cars trips that they would otherwise be taking which in turn reduces the need for expensive road building, repair and maintenance. It encourages young families to use this form of leisure and exercise which improves their mental and physical health thereby reducing future health care costs.
Bike riding is a less expensive form of transportation than driving an automobile. Thereby keeping more hard earned dollars in their pockets - to use a familiar quote these days.
While riding mass transit today, I explained to my granddaughter that this subway car alone carried the equivalent of about 20 automobiles full of people. 20 automobiles that would have further congested the street traffic above us. Similarly, all of the bike riders commuting to work, shopping destinations and to schools (secondary, colleges, universities) takes people OUT of their cars and out of mass transit modes to make more room for others, thereby creating capacity in mass transit investments already in use.
I am continued to be surprised by the number of bikes carried on the front bumper racks of Niagara City and regional buses as riders combine both means of transportation for their trips. Furthermore, the GO-Train service to Niagara Falls has a bike "rail car' to carry the bikes used by riders that come to Niagara to take advantage of the bike lanes network in the Niagara Peninsula. "Bicycle tourism" is a growing field that should continue to grow in the future with INCREASED bike lanes. Look no further than this Ontario Government site- https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca/articles/top-bicycle-tours-and….
The Toronto Star recently published results from a study indicating how in Toronto routes WITH BIKE LANES increased automobile transit times as compared to transit times before the bike lanes. A simple Google "bike lane transit savings" search produced numerous world wide studies showing the cost savings to a government that values bike lanes. I give three links as a sampling-
https://www.fiafoundation.org/news/protected-bike-lane-networks-save-mo…
https://itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Making-the-Economic-Case-fo…
https://drawdown.org/solutions/bicycle-infrastructure
https://www.wri.org/insights/invest-walking-cycling-sustainable-safe-ci…
Our adult son and his family who live in Toronto regularly use the Danforth Bike lanes to safely travel for work, leisure and appointments. Under the proposed legislation, this is one of the many bike lanes that would be removed. With proper parental guidance, my seven-year-old granddaughter is learning to safely ride her bike with a parent on this busy street using the bike lanes. Building her confidence and safety skills to be a bike rider for life. I would guesstimate that our son's family's bike riding routine saves at least 10 automobiles trips on Toronto streets alone.
I would appreciate the Ontario government producing the studies that support this currently proposed bill "reducing gridlock" by bike lane removal.
My thoughts as a Ontario taxpayer support the financial savings to the Ontario Budget by INCREASING bike lanes to reap the provincial government's savings in the areas of health care, mental heath care, road building and maintenance, future reduced climate change expenses and expanded tourist destinations. For these economic and moral reasons as a citizen of Ontario and the world, I urge the government not to pass this bill.