I oppose the removal of bike…

I oppose the removal of bike lanes in Toronto main streets namely Bloor, Yonge and Avenue road. One cyclist was killed on Bloor at Avenue Rd this August because the bike lane was blocked by a construction vehicle. And in April a food delivery man on a bike was killed on Avenue Rd in the Yorkville area by a construction truck. These are preventable tragic deaths. I personally know someone who was hit by a SUV on Bayview Ave Toronto which has no bike lanes. She had serious injuries requiring surgery and was off work for more than a month.
Bike lanes save lives and should be expanded rather than removed. Montreal gets a lot more snow than Toronto and has 600km of bike lanes. Many cities in Europe have bike lanes and they work very well. (see link) Premier Ford is misguided and this is not even his jurisdiction. If he wants to reduce gridlock he should change the regulations that allow construction trucks to obstruct roads by requiring construction companies to have an area set back from the street for their vehicles. He can also help complete the Eglinton metrolinx LRT and improve public transportation between the suburbs and downtown Toronto so fewer people will need to drive cars downtown.
Furthermore, there is no need to pave the greenbelt for another highway when the 407 is underutilized due to the exorbitant fees charged by the current owner, a private company. It was a huge mistake made by a previous Conservative government when they sold it to a private company. Ford should explore other options. Many people have submitted good ideas showing that the new 413 highway is not necessary, but Ford has bulldozed it through without proper environmental assessment.