I am very concerned about…

I am very concerned about this bill, and its implications for the future of this province. There are many reasons to NOT pass a bill that restricts the development of bike lanes in cities around Ontario. Here are a few:

1. SAFETY: This is, ultimately, about life or death. We experience road fatalities all the time and removing protected bike infrastructure would make this worse. STOP USING PEOPLE AS PAWNS IN YOUR POLITICAL GAMES!!!! Doug Ford should be ashamed of this plan which WILL lead to more deaths on our roads. I am so sick and tired of seeing this PC party turning matters of FACT into matters of POLITICS. ENOUGH!! The people are sick of it. We need to protect vulnerable road users. Imagine if someone suggested removing all sidewalks to make more room for cars? This would be ludicrous but that is essentially the same thing that's happening here except it's worse because cyclists are even more vulnerable due to their higher speed and needing to balance on two wheels. Please PLEASE PLEASE do not pass this bill. You WILL have blood on your hands. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/she-loved-to-ride-her-bike-cyclist-kil…. Do you want more of these incidents????? I am so depressed and frankly embarrassed of my province that this is even up for debate.

2. This would be a massive provincial overreach. WHY is the province trying to micromanage decisions that are better left to local leaders and municipalities that know the situation on the ground and can make better decisions for local communities. The Government of Ontario should building housing and improving PUBLIC healthcare, not wasting OUR TAX DOLLARS on this issue.

3. This would make DRIVING WORSE. As a regular driver, I DO NOT WANT cyclists having to share lanes with drivers. But if this plan passes, this would be the result. That, or cyclists on sidewalks running into old people and kids who are walking. The ONLY SOLUTION is SEPARATION. With proper SEPARATED AND PROTECTED bike lanes, cyclists and drivers are kept separate, allowing safer and easier travel for both cyclists and drivers, and transit!

4. Children. Think of the children who ride their bikes to get to school or to playdates. Especially when it gets dark early. Do you want them to be forced to bike with cars or take a long and potentially dangerous route through side streets? Side streets are NOT the solution here because they don't connect properly. Eventually you'll have to cross a busy road or ride on one. And when that happens, do you want those kids getting hit by cars because there's nowhere for them to ride safely? I mean COME ON! Think of the poor parents who would have to live knowing that their kid was killed because DOUG FORD AND THE PC PARTY want to play politics with this life or death issue. Get a grip, folks.

FINALLY, I want to say the public has been so misled on this issue by the Ford Government. At first we were told it was all about reducing congestion, and they would carefully look at the data. Instead, we're getting a bunch of pathetic LOSERS in government who just want to rip up bike lanes to suit their own fantasies and appease their base of sadly misinformed supporters. The proposed bill doesn't even distinguish between side streets and main streets, which, TO BE CLEAR, would NOT solve this issue. The issue is this:

Have you ever heard of these studies? https://cityobservatory.org/the-fundamental-global-law-of-road-congesti…

This is a fundamental law of city design. You cannot ESCAPE MATH AND SCIENCE AND STATISTICS. The ONLY SOLUTION TO CAR TRAFFIC IS VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO DRIVING. You take out the bike lanes, you'll have more and more people in cars and Ubers. Not everyone can afford to buy a car, and not everyone will take the subway or streetcar or bus. Lots of these people will either drive or bike. And you'd be forcing them to drive. Enough of this nonsense. Look at the damn data and research and stop playing politics.

If you can't tell, I AM ANGRY. It is an embarrassment to this province and this country that we are still having this discussion in 2024. Get with the program, get with the times, and realize that the only solution to your "congestion problem" is to get people OUT OF THEIR CARS. GOD HELP the people of Ontario if this bill passes. We will be screwed. And Ford wants another four years in power. Seriously. This is a real shame. Please, look at the data and the evidence and recognize that this bill is a waste of taxpayer dollars, is not worth even considering, and will lead to needless loss of life.