As a driver, and someone who…

As a driver, and someone who often experiences gridlock, I am strongly opposed to the Ford government's proposal under Bill 212 to reduce and remove existing bike lanes.

First and foremost, I fear that reducing bike lanes will cost lives. I have a brother who is an avid Toronto cyclist, riding many hours per week. I am concerned that with a reduction in bike lanes, my sibling, and others like him, who have come to rely on safe bike lanes, will be at greater risk for collisions with motorized vehicle traffic.

And, I strongly oppose the Ford government’s nose in decisions that are the responsibility of the municipalities. Since in many of the areas affected, the PCs have no seats to lose, the Ford government wields unprecedented power to take decision making away from municipalities. I am tired of this interference in municipal matters. The bullying must stop!

I question the costs in removing existing bike lanes, especially since there is no criteria established for which lanes will be a risk. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent to go backwards, removing lanes that were built within the last five years. And, let us not forget the construction disruption that will ensue to remove existing bike lanes!

Moreover, creating more space for vehicle traffic does not reduce gridlock, according to the latest research. Adding lanes for motorized vehicles only encourages more people to choose to take their cars, rather than using public transit, particularly when bike lanes are absent. One has only to take a look among many US cities to see the problems created by a priority on vehicle traffic. Clearly, a better choice is to throw dollars into improved public transportation and add bike lanes.

A better road forward is to also look more closely at the chaos that construction projects cause. Often, we see lane closures when workers and machinery and evidence of work are missing. This problem could certainly be more closely monitored to ease gridlock.

For safety, construction costs and to continue to provide choice among our Ontarians on how we move around our towns and cities, I urge the provincial government to scrap Bill 212.