I am appalled that I have to…

I am appalled that I have to speak for the safety of our city and ask you to ensure that the Province reconsiders its position and keeps Toronto streets safe. Removing bike lanes will only make Toronto a more dangerous place to live and work.

My plea is supported by my experience of surviving after being hit by a car on my way to work. The resulting injuries put me on a slow and painful recovery for more than a year now. As a result of the collision, I had several broken bones and I had to undergo a surgery to stabilize and fuse my lumbar vertebrae. I spent more than a month in a Hospital and a Rehabilitation Centre, plus six months without being able to work, and I have been in therapy to regain my mobility since then. Still today, I am in pain when lifting things or trying to run. And I consider myself lucky of being alive and walking again. Mine has been a happy-ending ‘statistic’; fortunate to not be one of the fatal cycling collisions that have been worryingly increasing in Toronto this year.

It is very disheartening to hear that the Province is removing the bike lanes that have protected many of the road users that travel and work in Toronto, under the weak and debunked argument that they affect negatively our commute and are costly or unnecessary. I will ask instead how much money can our Province save and redirect by preventing accidents like mine. I really hope no one has to go through the pain and injuries I had to suffer, just because I was on my way to work... on a bicycle.

As Toronto keeps growing faster than its infrastructure, the equity co-benefits from investing in a Cycling Network that includes road safety projects like the bike lanes already in use, will be worth every single dollar invested on it. These co-benefits range from the prevention of more injuries and deaths on vulnerable road users, as well as environmental, social and economic gains. We are seeing this paying back in other cities like Paris, New York and Montreal. Why does Toronto seem to turn to the opposite direction?

Please, we need our bike lanes for everyone's safety and keep Toronto from more preventable road deaths and injuries. Removing the bike lanes will NOT improve traffic. Please, save other people from the pain of a broken back.

Thanks,