Ripping up the existing bike…

Ripping up the existing bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, University would be absolutely criminal. As a former student at Ryerson (TMU), I used the Bloor bike lanes daily. Those lanes are incredibly well used, even seeing a considerable amount of congestion during peak times. These routes represent an immense investment in green infrastructure, which actually does reduce gridlock and save people time. Without the bike lanes, those bikers will either hop in a car (Increasing gridlock), take the already congested subway line, or continue to bike as usual, without a bike lane, which puts them at risk and created havoc for drivers. A cyclist was killed at Bloor and Avenue earlier this year, due to a dumpster being illegally put in the bike lane. If Doug Ford's response to that senseless manslaughter is to remove the bike lane, he's out to lunch and completely unfit to serve.

The provincial conservative party has no business weaseling into municipal affairs such as this one. If the City of Toronto didn't want bike lanes, they would've elected a mayor who reflected those values, however the opposite happened. If Doug Ford cares so much about these issues he should just run for Mayor - oh wait, that already happened...

Most importantly, the way Doug and Prabmeet vilify cycling is shameful. I don't understand when or why cycling became a left-wing virtue. Shouldn't people of all political backgrounds want their kids to have safe routes to bike to school, friends house, soccer practice etc., and safe and reliable mobility options for folks who don't want or need to own a car? Cycling promotes positive physical and mental health, is environmentally friendly, economically friendly, safe, and makes sense spatially in big cities. If the conservative party is against all those things, they should probably take a long look in the mirror.