Removal of bike lanes or any…

Removal of bike lanes or any related cycling infrastructure should be the exclusive domain of municipalities in Ontario. These bike lanes were only made permanent after pilot programs have demonstrated that there were no or negligible impacts on motor vehicle travel times while boosting the revenues of local businesses. I am not aware of this being required for any new or expanded roadways for cars. Data and evidence-based policy decisions need to take precedence over ideological approaches that are couched in terms of "common sense".

The numerous factors and stakeholder involved do not make the solutions obvious ones and available research and expert analysis needs to be used to assist development and implementation of public policy.

If the province really wants to do something about traffic congestion it should allow the City of Toronto to impose a toll on vehicles entering the central portion of the city similar to what other large cities in other jurisdictions have successfully done to address traffic congestion. It seems to be "common sense" that it is necessary to make alternatives to individual car ownership and operation available and viable. Currently vehicle use on public roads is indirectly and heavily subsidized by all levels of government by not applying user fees as is the case with public transit. There are many examples of cities around the world where this has been successfully done and Toronto and Ontario would be well served to take advantage of what has been learned elsewhere.