I agree that congestion is a…

I agree that congestion is a big issue in Toronto and other parts of the province. It is frustrating to be stuck in traffic and wastes time on a daily basis that could otherwise be spent with friends and family or on other hobbies. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, however the methods proposed by the Ontario Government in Bill 212 will not help the problem.

Toronto has always been a city with heavy traffic. I cannot remember a time where I have been able to travel through the city by car without experiencing some delay unless it was the middle of the night or very early morning. This is not a new issue. Toronto traffic did not magically become bad when the city started building bike lanes. It was the case without bike lanes in place, it is the case with bike lanes in place.

I think that this can be best observed if you look anywhere in the city where no bike infrastructure has been built. Is there magically free flowing traffic because all of the road space has been given to motor vehicles? If so the Ontario Government should consider removing bike lanes from the 401, DVP and the Gardiner since they seem to constantly get backed up with traffic.

No, it's not the lack of space for cars that is causing congestion as some would like to believe. Over the past 70 years we have been building as much space for cars as possible. This has demolished communities, been a factor in millions of deaths (either through collisions or health issues caused by vehicle emissions) and has negatively impacted the planet that we depend upon. Continuing to invest primarily in cars for transportation is unsustainable and will not fix our issues in the short term, nor will it fix our issues in the long term. Especially in cities like Toronto we need to invest in alternative methods for people to get around so that we can continue to grow without the city constantly in a state of gridlock.

How can we do this? Well to start, there is no need to make it more difficult to build infrastructure that makes it safe for Ontarians who choose to cycle. Cities already conduct thorough studies on how a bike lane would locally affect the neighborhood and the community it contains. They already get approval from the citizens they are building for. Why the Government of Ontario wants to spend time and taxpayer money reviewing local issues is beyond me. Why the Government of Ontario has introduced a bill for the entire province specifically targeting local Toronto issues does not make any sense. It should remember that it is governing a province, not the city that is hosting it's legislature

But gridlock is still an issue right now. and something still needs to be done. If the Government of Ontario truly wants to help ease congestion and help people move around the Toronto faster, there are solutions that do not require ripping out existing infrastructure for dubious benefit. First of all, to help car traffic, they can push people to travel on currently underutilized car infrastructure. The 407 is a perfect candidate for helping to reduce congestion for people trying to get across Toronto. Subsidizing tolls would help get cars off of the congested 401 and help move more people around.

Second, expediting the construction of the Eglinton LRT would go a long way for reducing the number of trips people currently use a car for, thus reducing traffic. The government has shown with the current progress on the Gardiner that it can successfully speed up a construction project. Applying the same effort to get the LRT open ASAP would go a long way for getting people out of cars and onto transit, reducing traffic for everyone else who still needs to drive.

It's incredibly disappointing that this government seems to be willfully ignorant of actual solutions to congestion, and are actively working against efforts that can meaningfully address the issue. I hope that the Government of Ontario can shelve this plan and instead propose measures that can help Ontario and her cities grow sustainably.