Hello, I work as a…

Hello,

I work as a musculoskeletal radiologist at a Toronto trauma centre.

In my clinical duties, I see a lot of bad motor vehicle collisions. Broken bones, spines, brain bleeds, shattered organs, etc. These patients undergo a tremendous amount of suffering -- and so do their families. Their care is invariably extremely expensive. Even after getting patched up -- if they are fortunate enough to survive -- these patients frequently develop longstanding mental health issues. As a trauma surgeon once said to me, "trauma is a psychosocial disease."

We need to get serious about preventing these injuries.

Bike lanes are a part of that.

By encouraging people to cycle, we gain in so many ways:

1) A healthier population
2) Cleaner air
3) Reduced health care costs
4) Fewer cars on the road

With protected bike lanes, parents can allow their kids to cycle around the city and know that it is safer. That peace of mind is worth something.

Mr. Ford has, very selfishly, politicized and polarized this topic. This is not cyclists versus motorists. We are all people.

New York City, London, and Paris are all taking steps towards better urbanism by removing cars, through a combination of pedestrian only streets, congestion charges, and bike lanes. In the interest of scoring cheap political points, Mr. Ford would have us fall behind. That isn't leadership. That is cowardice.