I’m a former bike courier…

I’m a former bike courier and I find riding in Toronto terrifying. I have a friend who was struck and killed by a truck a number of years ago while riding his bicycle. My wife was hit by a car while riding her bicycle and is still off work. I have had more close calls than I care to remember. We need to make riding a bicycle in the city of Toronto a normal behaviour that drivers respect. This does not happen spontaneously. Clearly separated bicycle lanes are one way we can improve safety. We seem to have forgotten that the city is for people, and people get around in many different ways. If traffic is bad, it isn’t the fault of cyclists who take up a small sliver of a small percentage of our roadways: if I’m on my bicycle, I’m not in the car in front of you. We need a connected system of safe bicycle lanes that Torontonians will actually use, and they will only use it if it is safe. We need enforcement of traffic laws - for cars and cyclists - so that both acknowledge that safety is a communal effort. Taking out bike lanes will just put me back in my car, possibly in front of you. Remember when you are in your car: you aren’t stuck IN traffic: you ARE the traffic. Now imagine everyone who rides a bike in a car instead.