The proposed legislation to…

The proposed legislation to remove bike lanes in cities is misguided and potentially dangerous. I live just north of Bloor Street West near Ossington Avenue. I use the bike lane along Bloor Street to travel west to the Dufferin Mall and east to Spadina. Numerous other cyclists - old, young and in between - use the lanes as well. I will provide one example from about a week ago. A woman and her young daughter, both on their bikes, were cycling west along Bloor Street after school. I immediately wondered what will happen to them once the bike lane is removed. Will they have to ride in traffic, dodging cars and trucks? Will they have to ride on the sidewalk, potentially endangering pedestrians? What are they to do? Will they be injured or even killed?

One solution that anti-bike lane proponents have proposed is for cyclists to use parallel side streets. As a long-time resident in this area, I can assure you there are no parallel side streets that run east and west. Should we use Dupont? Should we use College?

Finally, the argument is made that very few people cycle. That may be true in northern or rural Ontario. I can assure you that in downtown Toronto many cycle regularly. Please see the article here about how those arguing against bike lanes are taking statistics they like out of context: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/doug-ford-wants-to-rip-up-bike-lanes-b…

However, everyone should remember, it is not all about statistics. It is about cyclists' safety. It is about climate change. It is about reducing pollution from gas and diesel powered vehicles. Bike lanes save lives in many ways.