Please do not remove…

Please do not remove existing bike lanes or block the construction of new ones. This Bill will hurt Torontonians who cycle to work or activities. The percentage of Torontonians who bike to work, school, or activities, was 44% in 2019 (and is likely much higher now). Restricting bike lanes will therefore negatively affect at least 44% of Torontonians by making biking more unsafe for them. Further, the removal of bike lanes will NOT stop cyclists, as many of them must commute along Bloor, Yonge, and University as this is where their employment is or because they are cyclists for Uber and must be in these commercial areas. People will thus continue to cycle but in a more unsafe environment. Cyclists will be forced to take up a lane of car traffic, which is bigger than a bike lane (and thus more intrusive). Transportation would then become worse for drivers AND cyclists, as drivers will be forced to maneuver around cyclists on the street (which will, inevitably, slow them down). Restricting and removing bike lanes will inevitably cause more deaths and injuries among cyclists, and worse driving conditions for drivers.

Another important reason that cycling infrastructure should be supported is because of its effects on businesses. An economic impact study of the bike lanes on Bloor showed that after their installation, businesses received more customers and these customers spent more money, on average. Businesses now are struggling heavily due to the effects of COVID-19 and pandemic recovery - we must do everything we can to help businesses succeed and encourage Canada's economic recovery from the pandemic. One very easy and effective way of doing this is with bike lanes.

Additionally, with the higher cost of living, many people cannot afford to drive to work. Cars, car maintenance, gas, and insurance, are all extremely expensive. Further, public transportation is often unreliable or slow. Thus, for people that cannot afford a car, the best alternative for them is cycling. It is often much faster for people to cycle to work than to take public transit. We should ensure that bike lanes are safe and available for these people.

Further, Canada is in the middle of a climate crisis. We are increasingly being affected by wildfires in our national parks and forests. We must promote alternative forms of public transportation that do not rely on fossil fuels. Cycling is the cleanest and cheapest alternative available. It should be wholly encouraged by making cycling accessible, rather than discouraged through the restriction and removal of bike lanes.

Finally, if the aim of this Bill is to reduce traffic and gridlock, studies show that the best way of achieving this is actually through an increase in cycling infrastructure, and, cyclists! Studies have generally found that an increase in bike lanes led to a decrease in traffic, as each bicycle is one less car on the road. In contrast, increasing the amount of car lanes would lead to more drivers due to “induced demand”. Basically, building car infrastructure would encourage more people to drive, and lead to more cars on the road. Therefore, this would result in NO decrease in traffic and would not help to tackle gridlock and congestion.

Please, I urge the Ontario government to look at bike lanes from a holistic perspective. Bike lanes are beneficial for the safety of commuters, the positive effects on businesses, their cost and efficiency over driving and taking public transit, and Canada’s climate crisis. Even more, if the only goal of this Bill is to reduce traffic, studies show that an extra lane of car traffic will NOT achieve this goal. The province would thus sacrifice all of the aforementioned benefits for a goal that cannot even be achieved with this Bill. Once again, I am begging the Ontario government to take into consideration everything mentioned to understand and see the benefit of bike lanes.