I vehemently oppose this…

I vehemently oppose this bill, as do many, many Ontarians.

First, the province should not be intervening in municipal decisions. It’s fundamentally anti-democratic and represents massive overreach on the part of the province.

Second, bike lanes save lives. There will always be cyclists on the roads, and it is better for both the cyclists and drivers that they have separate, safe lanes of traffic. I both bike and drive, and I much prefer to have bike lanes on all roads, even if they cut down on space to drive. As a driver, I am terrified of hitting a cyclist, and as a cyclist, I am terrified of being hit.

Third, bike lanes reduce congestion. I live just off of Bloor, and the bike lanes there have fundamentally changed how I move through the city. I am much less likely to drive or take an Uber because it is safer, easier, and sometimes quicker to bike. I believe that the more we invest in bike infrastructure, the more congestion will actually fall as more people shift to biking.

Fourth, specifically addressing the plan to rip out the bike lanes - I think we can all agree that it’s ridiculous. As a taxpayer, I find it outrageous that a government would waste our tax dollars by building an infrastructure project and the spending more money ripping it out. Leave the bike lanes alone. It will cause years more of horrific traffic to remove them, and it makes this government look incompetent and absurd. You should be embarrassed of the waste and expense of this ridiculous proposal, if nothing else.