I welcome the removal of…

I welcome the removal of bike lanes placed along Bloor St. W. through Bloor-West Village. Not only have bike lanes reduced lanes along Bloor, but had created an unsafe environment for the local community.

First, as a car user who travels to see their parents in Halton Region with my children, it is frustrating to have to sit idle in traffic while trying to leave my area. Even while carpooling to work, picking up my colleague in the Kingsway area has taken me up to 15 minutes longer than in the past, wasting fuel and expelling emissions while seeing empty/idle bike lanes.

Second, the placement of bike lanes has resulted in a massive increase in vehicles traveling through the residential area to the north, where I live. These vehicles are doing everything possible to avoid the gridlock at Bloor/Runnymede and Bloor/Jane. They speed through the area, rolling stop signs or not even yielding to them, while traveling above the speed limit. With thousands of children in the area the number of near-misses seen on a daily basis is totally uncalled for and as a direct result of drivers' frustration to the bike lanes placed on Bloor and their avoiding of such. Sure, speed limits were reduced from 40 kph to 30 kph, but that results in nothing without enforcement. It means nothing when the same vehicles traveling 30 kph blast through stop signs at 30 kph. I have yet to see an increased police presence in the area. Nor do I see the city monitoring traffic counts on our street; they are counting cars on Bloor and touting positive results while turning a blind-eye to impacts on adjacent streets. If those cars now traveling through the neighborhood, that were not present before the bike lane placements, were replaced by bicycles, the impacts would not exist. Everybody is in a rush, which soon will result in more conflicts between area residents and will likely lead to an increase in pedestrian/cyclist related incidents in the near future.

Third, I can see the massive impact bike lanes have had on 2422 Bloor St W, Health Services building. I see seniors trying to access the area with walkers and wheelchairs unable to get into their parking lot. With little to no parking, I am seeing them resort to exiting their vehicles in live traffic, trying to make their way to the sidewalk, so to acquire the services that they require. This is not only short sighted and unaccommodating to those with special needs, it's down-right dangerous.

Finally, the city has taken no time to accommodate freight. There are numerous business along this stretch of Bloor-West where deliveries are made on a daily basis. Trucks and tractor-trailers used to have the ability to park and load/unload along Bloor St. W. They cannot be accommodated in the alley's behind, nor can they now park along Bloor with bike lanes and street furniture present. The result in those same trucks now traveling through the 'No Truck Zone' north of Bloor, through the residential area, so that they can access the businesses that they serve. But, where do they park? They have no option but to park in No Stopping and No Standing Zones. I've seen them ticketed, which will obviously increase the price of the freight. But even more worrisome is parking enforcement officers telling the trucks they can't park there, raising their voices when the driver indicates they have nowhere else to park.

All of this is to say that the city has decreased safety and increased traffic on side streets, through residential areas, in an attempt to please cyclists with a loud voice. It's a blind decision that is not based on science, and they are only seeking information on traffic impacts along their stretch of bike lanes without considering impacts in and around the main thoroughfare where these lanes are placed.