I live and work in downtown…

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I live and work in downtown Toronto. I have lived here for 15 years, long before bike lanes started replacing car lanes. I have commute about 10km each way daily to work. I commute by various modes -- sometimes car, sometimes bike, sometimes public transit. Long before there were bike lanes on Bloor, Richmond, etc., cycling was the fastest way to get to work. Driving has always taken between 35-50 minutes -- even before the removal of car lanes for bike lanes. This has NOT gotten worse with the removal of car lanes. Show me a traffic study that says it has. Rather, the only thing that has changed is that biking has become safer and more enjoyable. As a mother of two young children, I do not wish to die on my way to work as I am forced to weave between cars. Also, the number of cyclists has increased, removing people from cars that create gridlock. Look at any great European city and you will find bike lanes dominate - Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Stockholm, even New York City -- all places that have invested in active transportation because they know that getting people out of cars is what reduces gridlock, not making more room for cars. There are mountains of data to back this up. The best way to reduce gridlock is to encourage other forms of transportation, not make more room for cars. Invest in more bike lanes and more transit and stop meddling in municipal affairs.