As a taxpayer, I believe…

As a resident, homeowner, and taxpayer, I believe Bill 212 is a waste of provincial government money. Bike lanes are not installed with some bizarre agenda. They have been planned and investigated and discussed and voted on by municipalities. This bill proposes that the province should second guess all of this work and imposes more bureaucracy. Is the government's plan to spend more money and create more delays for the people of Ontario? I find this embarrassing from my provincial government.

As a driver, I want separated infrastructure so I can focus on driving safely for all road users. Bike lanes (in particular, separated lanes) give us all a clear zone to move in and avoids putting anyone who chooses to cycle into traffic with cars. I wouldn't want my nephew going to school or my mother heading to a doctors appointment to be forced into a lane with cars, let alone trucks, trailers, and larger vehicles. If the goal is to decimate cycling in Ontario, then perhaps this plan makes sense.

As a year-round cyclist that lives in the suburbs, I choose to leave my car at home because it is a healthy and CHEAP option. I go from point to point on my own schedule. I save more than two hundred dollars per month on fuel and parking. A removal of bike lanes will only make me have to reevaluate this choice, leading to more traffic on the road and impacting the affordability of my daily life. But even a delay in building proper infrastructure will increase the chances that I become an Ontario fatality statistic, devastating my family, community, and workplace.

Bill 212 should be scrapped. It is unnecessarily dividing our province, has no data to support it, and will lead to injuries and deaths. Voting in favour of this bill is choosing to make our province a worse place to live. Let's work on projects that actually save time by getting more cars off the road by encouraging cycling and public transit, and build homes near workplaces rather than constantly sprawling.