Hi all, I can't believe we…

Hi all, I can't believe we're having this conversation again. I've included a link to "induced demand," a phenomenon that applies to transportation planning which quotes one city planner: "the great intellectual black hole in city planning, the one professional certainty that every thoughtful person seems to acknowledge, yet almost no one is willing to act upon."

Adding bicycle lanes results in more cyclists on the road, as a City News article found in 2024. Cyclists do not appear out of nowhere however; a person on a bicycle is one less person driving a car, which has the net impact of reducing the amount of traffic for commuters who have no choice but to use a car. For some commuters, a car will always be necessary, and so the best proven way to reduce traffic for these drivers is to give everyone else alternative means. Public transit and cycling are two such alternatives. If there were no such alternatives, there would be more drivers on the road, increasing congestion. Removing bicycle lanes to make room for more cars on the other hand increases traffic for car drivers for two reasons:

* It induces demand for cars
* It reduces demand for bicycles

Equally importantly, I do not understand why the province is adding more red tape to city planning. How is the province of Ontario expected to efficiently review and approve all such bicycle lane installations without holding up municipal public works projects? The most optimistic answer I can think of is that it will drastically slow things down. A more cynical take, however, is that the intent of this bill is to make cities think twice about installing bicycle lanes in order to avoid this red tape. Whether or not that is the intent of the bill, that is how it will work, something the province must surely know.

In the neighbourhoods I grew up in, I rode my bike as often as possible. The cycling infrastructure gradually improved and each year I noticed more bicycles on the road. I never thought much of it until I moved to another neighbourhood with poor cycling infrastructure. Here, it's very difficult to get around without a car, and so we were forced to buy one. I do not enjoy owning a car. It is expensive to own, expensive to maintain, expensive to insure, and takes up a lot of space. What's more, it doesn't even get me anywhere quickly, because the roads are full of cars and parking is difficult to find. Occasionally I'm still able to use my bicycle to go somewhere and it's actually faster. When I ride my bicycle, I am also reducing traffic for people who must drive their car. I can't repeat this often enough: better bicycle infrastructure makes car infrastructure better too.

In summary:

* Please do not remove the bike lanes proposed by this bill. You will make traffic worse for car drivers, as well as making it worse and more dangerous for cyclists.
* Please do not involve yourselves unasked in municipal transportation planning. That is not the province's role. At best you are adding red tape and more gravy to the process; at worst, you are disincentivizing better city planning.