The provincial government's…

The provincial government's decision to limit the installation of bike lanes by municipalities is not based on facts. I have several points to make as follows:

1) Most streets do not have bike lanes, yet there is congestion and bumper-to-bumper traffic every day. This is because the cause of traffic jams is NOT bike lanes or cyclists -- it is too many motor vehicles (many with single occupants).

2) Vehicle parking -- even along major streets, often both sides -- has removed far more vehicle lanes than bike lanes have.

3) Research in Toronto has shown that bike lanes result in MORE business for retail and services along main streets.

4) The government professes to want people to get home to their families. Bike lanes make streets safer for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians because cyclists are in their own lane rather than mixing with traffic or riding on sidewalks to avoid more vehicles. This is a safety issue, at a time when Toronto has seen increased cyclist deaths. The government is further endangering cyclists by blaming them for problems they do not cause (see point 1 above), thus emboldening critics of cyclists looking for someone to blame for traffic jams.

5) Tearing out existing bike lanes is a waste of taxpayer money regardless of which level of government pays the bill.

6) The Transport Minister seems unaware that cyclists ride in rain, heat, cold, and light snow.

7) Cycling is a healthy activity that is easy on infrastructure and the environment. It should be encouraged.

In short, bike lanes solve problems; they do not create problems.

Thank you.