The three bike lanes in…

The three bike lanes in question on University, Bloor, and Yonge are essential to my ability to travel safely around Toronto. I say this as someone who has been hit twice by drivers, and who required five surgeries through multiple years to repair the damage done from the first such incident. In their Oct. 30 letter opposing this legislation [1], 120 physicians and researchers from the University of Toronto highlighted the human cost of our unsafe infrastructure. I do not want to be added to this toll as a consequence of this provincial government's pandering to drivers.

If this debate were driven by data, the provincial government would consult the extensive urban planning research that shows bike infrastructure has at most a negligible impact on drivers' travel times. They might consider the Oct. 28 letter from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute [2] stating that the "proposed legislative changes will not reduce congestion [and] will increase risk to public safety." They might consult the Bloor-Annex BIA [3], who have seen that "bike lanes are good for business, they improve safety for all road users, and reduce congestion." Or perhaps they would listen to Toronto Fire Services, whose deputy chief said the Bloor West bike lanes have actually improved emergency response times based on two criteria [4].

Unfortunately, however, this debate seems to be informed primarily by personal feelings and anecdotes rather than calm, considered study by professionals. So, to that end, allow me to contribute: I feel this legislation is a direct attack on my safety and well-being, and that of the family and friends I care about most. I feel this is transparent politicking to appeal to a political base that lives far from the routes in question. I feel this ignores the extensive study and public consultation that the city pursued for many years prior to establishing this infrastructure. I feel this legislation prioritizes the (perceived, not actual!) momentary convenience of drivers over my safety. Moreover, as someone who has lived and worked in downtown Toronto for ten years, and has lived in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood for the last eight years, while also driving on a weekly basis, I feel that the bike infrastructure has had no impact on vehicular congestion. Both Yonge and Bloor have been horrifically congested for as long as I've lived in Toronto; far better they have a lane dedicated to cyclists, than they use that lane for cars that are stopped or parked. University, conversely, has so much capacity that traffic flows well, which was true before installation of bike infrastructure and remains true today.

The government's foremost responsibility is to provide safe infrastructure, and so on those grounds alone, the bike infrastructure must remain. That safety is worth achieving even if it comes at the cost of convenience for a subset of the population; how fortunate, then, it is that the data demonstrate that this infrastructure does not in fact inconvenience drivers. If the provincial government ignores the voices of the people most directly affected by this proposal in a cheap ploy to distract from the government's failures and engage its base, it will destroy the painstaking progress made by our municipal government in establishing a safe and equitable transportation network, with an immediate and direct impact on my safety and quality of life.

[1]: https://healthydebate.ca/2024/10/topic/legislation-road-design-safety-t…
[2]: https://ontarioplanners.ca/OPPIAssets/Documents/Policy-Papers/OPPI-Stat…
[3]: https://x.com/dmrider/status/1849123389937508607/photo/2
[4]: https://archive.is/WN2iq#selection-5851.42-5851.159