This bike lane framework is…

This bike lane framework is a step backward in every way. I live in Hamilton, Ontario, where we have been fighting for years to painstakingly expand our protected bike lane network. I can tell you with absolute certainty, having lived here for nearly 8 years, that as separated and protected lanes have been built and the short sections of lane have been connected into a continuous network, I have watched the number of cyclists in this city skyrocket.

Many of those bike lanes have been built on roads requiring removal or reduction of a lane. This bill would put them at risk of removal, taking us backwards dramatically.

Cycling is good for any city. As a mode of transport, it is affordable and accessible, it is environmentally friendly, it promotes physical fitness in our citizens. Perhaps most importantly for urban design, it is highly space efficient compared to cars.

Moreover, cycling is safer for the public. Hamilton, along with much of southern Ontario, has very high levels of injury and death as a result of motor vehicle incidents. These incidents are far more likely on wide multi-lane streets - as a result, we have actually narrowed lane widths and reduced lane numbers on our downtown streets, even where a bike lane is not planned to be built. This framework would make our roads more dangerous by increasing traffic flow.

Our transport infrastructure uses bicycles, walking, buses, and trains as efficient and sustainable ways of getting around. We need more investment in that infrastructure for the public good - not this slide backwards into cities that don’t work well for their citizens, choked with smog and gridlock due to ever-larger numbers of cars.

Please do not pass this bill.