I strongly oppose this bill,…

I strongly oppose this bill, as someone who commutes regularly by bike. I try to cycle year-round. In Hamilton, the construction of bike lanes has proved the idea of "build it and they will come". In the past decade, I have seen the number of cyclists explode, especially as people feel safer cycling on the city.

This bill will make people less safe and force them to purchase vehicles, worsening traffic. This will become exponentially worse with the population growth in metropolitan areas and suburban areas alike, and cities will be unable to fix this. Why ban the solution?

Additionally, the first purchase of my bike as a teenager unlocked so many areas of the city for me. I was finally able to get a better job, go to the mall, and volunteer regularly. I, along with many others, cannot afford the costs with maintaining a car. What will happen to us who cannot afford cars? It will become significantly more expensive, timely, and difficult for me to go to work, go to school, and even buy groceries. With the current difficulties regarding cost of living, this makes life so much harder. Why hurt us lower income citizens?

Having been hit by a turning car, I would feel far less safe cycling. I have seen those in our community--neighbours, friends, loved ones--become critically injured, and even pass away. Ontarians, children and elderly, have died due to a lack of safe cycling infrastructure and will die as a result of this bill. Why make our cities less safe?