I am writing to strongly…

I am writing to strongly oppose Bill 212. Bike lanes should be a municipal decision, built according to the needs and desires of the municipality in which bike lanes serve as important transportation infrastructure.

The basis of this proposal - that the removal of bike lanes will alleviate traffic - has no scientific, practical, or financial basis.

Bike lanes are life-saving infrastructure that allow for a city's inhabitants to more easily opt out of driving. Studies of bike lanes in Toronto show that bike lanes increased cyclist volume by over 2.5x, which translates to a real reduction in the number of cars on the road. The use of Bike Share in Toronto has increased many times over - amounting to almost 6 million rides taken in 2023 alone.

Moreover, many of Toronto's worst traffic problem spots, such as Lakeshore and Jarvis, are in no way related to the presence of bike lanes.

Bike lanes create induced demand, which means that over time, more people will choose to bike over take their car. They are future-oriented infrastructure - not only for the fundamental fact that they prevent fatalities, but for the economic and environmental wellbeing of cities. Bike lanes are scientifically proven to reduce cyclist fatalities and reduce emissions. There is no supporting scientific evidence that the addition of car lanes reduces traffic; in fact, the opposite is more often the case.

Should the provincial government remove bike lanes, many cyclists will be forced to use car lanes to navigate the city, which will increase confusion and create gridlock and frustration among car users. Removing bike lanes will not remove cyclists. They will simply remove SAFE cycling, forcing bikes onto the road with motor vehicles.

The provincial government should not spend taxpayer money on undoing municipal infrastructure projects and should instead focus on fixing the Gardiner, finishing the Eglinton LRT, and developing non-car-related methods for alleviating traffic in the city.