Bill 212 is a waste of…

Bill 212 is a waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer money and bureaucratic overreach. Doug Ford is trying to make his own life better at the expense of countless cyclists and Ontarians. Removing bike lanes does not add additional lanes for vehicles, it just puts cyclists in even more danger for being hit or killed by inattentive drivers. Requiring all municipalities to seek provincial approval for new bike lanes is unnecessary red tape imposed by non-experts pushing their own public interests above the needs of their communities. Induced demand is why more vehicle lanes does not solve traffic congestion - giving people the safe, equitable, and accessible opportunity to choose walking, cycling, or public transit for their daily travels is what reduces traffic congestion in cities. An attempt at getting people to their destination quicker by prioritizing vehicles’ speed and importance is a step backwards in time and a detrimental decision for our climate emergency protocols. As a province, we need to seek better options for everyone to have a choice about how they get around their cities safely and efficiently. The minister of transportation is not an expert on traffic engineering or climate science - the people of Ontario are and the government should be consulting with the people who are dealing with these problems every day to find actual, defensible and productive solutions. It is heartbreaking to see our government continue to push for corrupt, backhanded deals to benefit a small minority of high-level or influential individual, when millions of Canadians are left without a voice in the matter. Please, for the love of our climate and our community, reverse Bill 212 and consult with actual verified experts on the topic for what the best and highest use case scenario is for our complex urban street systems going into the future.