Bill 212 contains several…

Bill 212 contains several poor decisions about improving traffic with little-to-no evidence to support them.

I am currently a car owner who drives in the city of the Toronto and GTA. As a former bicycle commuter who traveled on Bloor St. in an east-to-west direction both before and after the existing bike lane was constructed, I can say the Bloor St. bike lanes have had very positive effects for both cyclist and pedestrian safety and have had not increased my overall drive times by car in this area.

Gridlock on Bloor St. was a nightmare even without bike lanes, because the city of Toronto has severely inadequate public transit given its population. This has nothing to do with bike lanes. Removing bike lanes on this road or any other is costly and a poor decision. This money should instead be invested in more efficient methods of transportation to reduce the number of cars on the road in city centres.

There are too many cars on the road. That is what creates traffic and gridlock. This is not a controversial opinion, it is fact.

Look at Los Angeles' severe traffic problems—they have huge roads with many lanes and it has not resolved anything; it has only made traffic worse, and walking around in that city stressful and dangerous as the risk of being hit by a vehicle is very high. Toronto is following the same path with decisions such as those proposed in this Bill (see first supporting link).

If more people feel safe using alternative transportation methods, such as bicycles, but also newer technologies such as e-bikes, e-scooters, etc., which are becoming increasingly popular and also require a "bike lane", less people will drive cars, and thus congestion will decrease. If these individuals do not feel safe using these transportation methods, they will continue to drive (see second supporting link).

Not only is this bill not based in evidence, but the government of Ontario is overstepping; traffic decisions should be left to municipalities, which each have their own unique challenges when it comes to traffic management.

I will not be voting for the Ford administration in future elections as a result of this decision (nor any individuals involved in this Bill).