Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this significant change to tax-funded municipal streets. I am concerned for the safety of myself and others that rely on bike lanes as their main affordable option for transportation. I am a Toronto tax payer who cannot afford a car (estimated to be $1.3K/ month in Canada). I have also struggled to pay for public transit (monthly TTC adult pass is currently $156/ month) and instead have used BikeShare Toronto ($120/ year or $10/month) close to 365 days/ year since 2015. Bike lanes have been essential for being able to safely ride to work, doctor’s appointments, and to visit businesses across the city. On August 31, 2024, I was struck by a driver in a hit-and-run while biking on a non-bike lane street, a decision that nearly cost me my life. I was in St. Michael’s Hospital trauma ward for 4 days and heard consistently from the doctors and nurses that the many biking accidents they treated were significant and usually involved bikers being hit by cars. They shared that, even with a helmet, being hit by a car while biking led most patients to having serious head trauma. I am significantly concerned that Bill 121 is putting the safety of vulnerable road users like myself at risk, while penalizing tax payers that cannot afford a car despite that they pay equally into road construction and maintenance.