I am very saddened by the…

I am very saddened by the provincial government's proposal to remove Toronto's bike lanes with Bill 212. I am a 5', 66 year old woman who travels by bike daily in the city. I am constantly in danger, it feels, and have been hit by cars twice this year. One incident I reported as a hit and run to police. I go out of my way to find bike lanes so I can commute to work and shop. The hit and run gave me a concussion but could have been much worse, I know people who have been seriously injured. I am only now, many months after that incident, able to cycle without extreme anxiety and fear of being hit from behind. I changed my route to travel side streets to work rather than the direct, shorter road with no bike lanes where that happened. Removing the lanes, in the downtown especially, is completely against the Vision Zero plan, it is without merit, and based on skewed figures that do not represent the actuality of bike travel on our city roads. I hope the Minister of Transportation will redo the Math because his numbers are not accurate.

It is disheartening to see that the provincial government has so little concern for the constant casualties on our roads. Increasing car traffic does not, and will not, help people feel safe whether cyclist or pedestrian. The daily collisions, bad driver behaviours, and lack of enforcement should be tackled before taking away safety from the most vulnerable.

Instead of overstepping into municipal affairs, please take that impulse and use it to encourage efficient, environmentally sound, and healthy ways of commuting and traveling throughout our city. Look to the increasing Bike Share numbers where residents and visitors find their way to all the interesting places there are to see. Downtown Toronto is not a highway and should never be given up just for the car.
As a year-round cyclist I am in close proximity to drivers and see that the vast majority of cars are transporting one person, how is that efficient and sound economics or environmentally sound? You are taking a hugely backward step and I hope that your government will not use my tax dollars to remove these lanes. For a government supposedly obsessed with the bottom line, how does this make financial sense? Please rethink this terrible idea.