Dear Mayor Chow and City…

Dear Mayor Chow and City Council,

Thank you for your commitment to stand up for the decision-making authority of City Council with item CC23.1. And thank you Councillors Saxe and Morley for your clear opposition to Bill 212 with item MM23.14. Toronto has made so much progress in building safe and protected cycling infrastructure over the last several years. But so much of that progress could soon be undone, all at once.

As of November 12th, 18,796 people have signed Cycle Toronto’s petition asking the province to stay in their own lane.

An open letter from 120 physicians and researchers is clear: “Legislation proposing to guide road design decisions, such as Bill 212, should explicitly place a higher priority on road safety than motor vehicle travel times. We oppose the proposed legislation as currently written…”

Mayor Chow, as you continue to review the city's options, I’m urging for you and City Council to:

1) Pass a motion at City Council this week conveying its opposition to the Provincial government's Bill 212, and request the Province of Ontario to maintain municipal jurisdiction with respect to the installation and removal of bike lanes

2) Direct the General Manager of Transportation Services and Director of Planning, Design and Management to make a formal, data-driven submission to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, Minister Sarkaria, and Premier Ford following the Ontario Professional Planners Institute’s statement that Bill 212 is a move away from evidence-based practices that will not reduce congestion and will increase risk to public safety and the Ontario Traffic Council’s urging that efficient flow of traffic should not come at the expense of cyclists’ and other vulnerable road users’ lives

3) Direct the General Manager of Transportation Services and Director of Planning, Design and Management to continue work on the Council approved 2024-2027 Cycling Network Plan including key projects like Parkside Dr., Dupont Ave., and Danforth-Kingston

4) Work to rally all 444 municipalities against Bill 212, along with the City of Kingston who have already adopted such motions, in solidarity with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)’s statement that requiring provincial approval would be a significant overreach into municipal jurisdiction

5) Make it clear that the City of Toronto will refuse to comply in spite of the bill's "requirement for the City of Toronto to provide support to facilitate the removal of the bike lanes", and not allow a single metre or kilometre of bike lane to be ripped out under provincial decree

6) Commit to using the city's full moral and legal authority to resist before and beyond should Bill 212 receive Royal Assent

Bill 212 will thwart Toronto’s key cities policies like achieving TransformTO climate action targets and VisionZero Road Safety goals. It is a thin wedge to the province deciding to meddle and undermine local decision-making authority. And in a year that has seen six people killed riding their bikes in Toronto–more than the previous three years combined–the timing of this legislation is a sharp reopening of painful wounds for the friends and families who have lost a loved one on our streets like Karen and George Amaro.

This is not a moment for compromise. Modern cities build bike lanes, and Toronto is a modern city. Not every trip is bikeable, and not every person will choose to ride a bike, but a network of connected bike lanes helps give people more transportation options. Contrary to the province’s bluster, the City of Toronto already has a robust consultation process planned years in advance, and when bike lanes are planned on arterial roads like Bloor, Yonge, and University it’s because people riding bikes want to get to the same places as people driving and taking transit.

Bike lanes are good for business, they’re great for the environment, and they’re a crucial part of public and personal health. Most of all, bike lanes save lives.