This proposal is an awful…

This proposal is an awful idea. In ontario trying to get almost anywhere by cycling is already a challenge with lacking or unsafe bicycle infrastructure. The main problem is how ontario has long been building almost exclusively for cars and leaving any other form of transit with barely anything. This has been changing in the last few years, but this bill would contribute to that same problem and keep us stuck in it. If every bike lane needed approval from the ontario government then these important projects would unnecessarily get caught up in red tape, local governments need to be able to meet local needs for transportation without having to deal with this extra layer. And the constant anti-bike sentiments that lead to this proposal will mean the government will be able to reject bike infrastructure regardless of how well it serves the community, which they have shown themselves to be very willing to do.

I and many others need bike paths to get to where I'm going on a daily basis, they're essential infrastructure just like sidewalks are and removing and restricting them like this when we're already working with scraps would make the commute of me and many others more and more impractical and unsafe, all for the justification of saving drivers some time. If we don't have these places to cycle, many cyclists will be forced to use the road as riding on sidewalks is illegal, and motorists constantly complain about dealing with bikes on the roads, so this proposal doesn't even help cars as much as it would claim.

Finally, the assertion that bike lanes are the cause of congestion is flimsy at best. Many studies have been done and show that places with more bike infrastructure have less traffic congestion because people have the option to cycle instead. There are several places that can be pointed to that have bike lanes and traffic flows fine, there are plenty of places without bike lanes that are backed up. So if we want less traffic congestion and less bikes in the middle of the road to deal with, then the only way is upgrading the bike infrastructure. This bill will only make things worse for everyone.