I own Sweet Pete’s, a…

I own Sweet Pete’s, a bicycle shop on Bloor Street near the corner of Brock Avenue. I am troubled by the proposal in Bill 212, The Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, to remove bike lanes on major thoroughfares, including Bloor Street. Minister Sarkaria’s statements that bike lanes are bad for small businesses are especially disappointing. Bike lanes help my business thrive.

My business benefits directly from the Bloor bike lane. We sell bicycles, related accessories and cycling apparel, and we offer maintenance and repair services. During COVID, ridership shot up. We had an unexpected boost in sales of bicycles for everyday family use, like cargo bikes and electric bikes. This coincided with the installation of the Bloor bike lanes. My customers kept asking if the lanes would be permanent. If they were going to leave the station wagon at home and move their families around the city by bicycle, they wanted to be sure they would be safe.

The people who bought bicycles during COVID have kept riding them, many year-round. It is not unusual for a mother to drop in with her children on the way home from school to pick up cycling mittens so they can stay warm in colder weather. I keep four mechanics employed all year. While business is slower in the winter, there are still a lot of people riding and a lot of bikes to fix. Bikes lanes have influenced this. With safe bike infrastructure, people are much more willing to ride in every season.

We have been at this location since 1997. Before the bike lanes were installed, we got less drop-in traffic. Drivers are just not as engaged with the neighborhood. They cannot see in shop windows as readily. They cannot stop as easily. A customer on a bicycle is much more likely to stop and shop on a whim. This will only happen if bike lanes are on major thoroughfares like Bloor Street.

The rise of cycling in the city is inevitable. Removing bike lanes won’t stop this; it will only make it more dangerous. With more and more people, we need different and more efficient ways to get around. This should not be a divisive issue. Cyclists are like everyone else. My customers and I drink Tim Horton’s coffee. We watch the Maple Leafs. We ride our bicycles to work. Just like everyone else, there should be a place for us on the road.