As a parent, neighbour and…

As a parent, neighbour and employee working and living along the Bloor St. W. corridor, I am devastated to hear that the province is planning to remove the recently instated bicycle lanes in my neighbourhood. My children use the bike lanes to visit friends, shop along Bloor St. and even to get to their job. Both my husband and I cycle to work, myself for 3/4 of the year, my partner even cycles downtown through the winter. We, all five of us, rely on the bike lanes for our health and safety. While we prefer cycling because of it's impact on our health, the health of our planet, and it's ease of transport, we do also use our car for longer trips and/or errands like the grocery store. While we have noticed a small uptick in the length of our travel time, it is a matter of minutes, not hours. This seems to be a small concession when one looks at the improved statistics around traffic incidents, including fewer pedestrian, cyclist and motorist events. I strongly encourage you to reconsider the effects of taking out the Bloor West bicycle lanes, as the few saved moments of vehicular travel returned by adding in a second car lane are not worth the accidents and fatalities added back as well.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.