I am deeply saddened and…

I am deeply saddened and confused by this proposal for many reasons.

I choose not to have a car. Instead, I bike my two kids around this city- to school, to the park, to their friend's houses. I need bike lanes to get us to where we need to go safely. If you want people using bikes for longer trips, which will reduce congestion, you need to have lanes on direct routes.

It goes against what we know to be true- there are numerous proven benefits to having bike lanes along major streets. In 2016, the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) was commissioned by the City of Toronto, the Metcalf Foundation, the Bloor Annex BIA and the Korea Town BIA to investigate the economic impacts – positive, negative or neutral – of the bike lane, as well as its effect on the travel patterns and attitudes of visitors and merchants. The study found numerous economic benefits in terms of customer counts, customer frequency and vacation rates, difficulties finding parking remained small and no parking spots were removed, etc. While these may not be in the specific areas under question, the results are likely to apply in other neighbourhoods as well. Please read the entire study here: https://www.tcat.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Bloor-Economic-Impact-St…

We also know from global studies that bike lanes reduce congestion. Why aren't we making evidence-informed decisions?!?!? Look here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c0e5848e5274a0bf3cbe124…

It's short-sighted. The connection between gas-powered cars, carbon emissions and climate change are known. We need to be reducing our emissions by investing in alternative modes of transportation. Rather than spending money putting in bike lanes and spending money removing them, invest in public transportation. Why is this so hard?

Moving bike lanes to side streets will drastically increase travel time for cyclists making it a less desirable mode of transportation. Why would we put up barriers to cycling when we need more people cycling to reduce congestion?

Please make evidence-informed decisions that make good economic and environmental sense, keep my kids safe and are solely to win you the next election.