Bicycles are traffic. In…

Bicycles are traffic.

In making a cycle lane one does not remove a traffic lane. Instead one makes a safe lane for a good type of traffic.

Cycle lanes do not waste time.

In our busy city, time is important: to pedestrians, cyclists, car-drivers. We all need to get around efficiently. By separating pedestrian, cycle and car traffic in separated lanes, one allows all three forms of traffic to move efficiently at their different paces.

Cycle lanes do not cause gridlock.

Cars cause gridlock. Even when driven according to the rules, cars take up space and cause jams. When the rules are not followed, they do worse. As an example that I see every day, when cars block intersections, they immediately back traffic up in all directions producing instant gridlock.

I have cycled on Bloor, University, and Yonge since moving to Toronto in 2003. With four children and no car, cycling safety was always a concern, even for the most basic things such as getting to work/school, or getting groceries. We had several accidents involving car drivers failing to give space or check before opening car doors. But thankfully the long-term consequences were no worse than a raised anxiety level.

The bike lanes have transformed my life as an individual cyclist. I no longer panic-sweat my way around, repeatedly wobbling into the flow of moving cars as I pass parked ones, wondering all the time if drivers can see me, and aware of driver irritation as I slow them down. Instead, by and large, I feel seen and safe.

More importantly, beyond me as an individual, the bike lanes have transformed our city. Cyclist numbers have mushroomed from the few brave souls of 2003 to a stream of confident riders. You see many more families and elders using the cycle ways. And delivery services benefit enormously from the speed and relative safety with which cyclists can get around. The bike share program has proved an excellent way to make cycling more convenient and affordable for occasional users. All this has been made possible by cycle ways that allow cyclists to be seen, protected, and safer.

Bicycles should be given space in our busy city. They are efficient, non-polluting, quiet, compact, affordable, and relatively unlikely to harm someone in an accident.

While acknowledging that we still need car traffic lanes, I hold that we should not only keep our current cycle traffic lanes, but add to them. In an ideal world, they would be as normal as car and pedestrian lanes.