Summary: This bill is…

Summary: This bill is designed in bad faith by the Government, who is not only overstepping their boundaries with bike lanes but is also disrespecting our environment and our future by using it to forcefully build Highway 413.

I’m submitting my comments with no support for Bill 212. This bill has been created in bad faith by the Government to enact actions that are dangerous to citizens, ideologically driven, and directly contrary with any factual information around how to solve the mobility and traffic challenges those in Ontario are facing.

The goals of this bill are stated to help get Ontarians out of gridlock and moving, except the legislation will do the exact opposite. To get ourselves out of gridlock and congestion we need to provide safe, reliable alternatives to driving. This means building more bike lanes, providing more transit options, adding in transit priority, and giving people alternative routes that don’t involve every trip ending up with individuals and families having to drive.

On top of this, the act of micromanaging the already existing bike lanes, which folks in their communities helped support and build, is going to decrease the safety of our citizens and roadways, increase health care impacts through an increase in injuries and deaths from interactions with motorists, and overshadow what tools municipalities have to grow and build their cities.

Also tucked into this legislation is a reduction in the environmental rules and oversights that help keep our beautiful province beautiful and healthy. The goals to help expedite the Highway 413 pet project of the current Government (at the time of writing) are patronizing and destructive.

Quality alternatives, like increased transit options, would go further at reducing the impact of congestion and traffic for those around the GTA without the need for Highway 413, but as is now the normal for this Government, this legislation is based on opinion and not fact.

As with roadways, bikeways also have induced demand, see attached link on “Latest Evidence on Induced Travel Demand: An Evidence Review” for more information about induced demand.

Bicycle ridership in Toronto has been looking to hit record levels in 2024. According to a September 2024 CBC article on Bike Share Toronto, “Bike Share Toronto set to beat 2023 ridership record by October”, “So far this year, riders in Toronto have taken 4.7 million Bike Share trips, already overtaking total ridership in 2022 and fast approaching the 5.7 million mark set in 2023, according to Bike Share Toronto director Justin Hanna.”

This means that more bike lanes and traffic management will help folks feel safe and secure enough to get out of their cars and use bicycles to get around the city. Doing so reduces the number of automobile trips and with this the number of automobiles on the road. This is exactly what the province is hoping for, less congestion, which can only be achieved sustainably through long term investments in our alternative infrastructure.

On top of the actions that the Bill describes, much of this Bill is designed to impact the City of Toronto but is overreaching to encompass the entire Province.

I believe we can achieve many of the intended goals set out in this Bill, but not in the way the Bill is designed. My challenge to MPPs, get on your bike and bike to work, around your neighbourhood, or with your kids, and quickly you’ll see how it feels to be the unprotected vulnerable road user, but you’ll also see how nice it is to get out and ride.