I am a citizen living in the…

I am a citizen living in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and a doctoral student in Urban Planning. I have significant concerns about this legislation as it seeks to limit options for active transportation and instead prioritizes automobile traffic. Our cycling infrastructure is already lacking in many areas due to limited past actions (like adding sharrows instead of proper lanes) and incomplete networks, which limit utility and prevent greater uptake of active transportation.

This legislation is also an unnecessary intrusion into municipal affairs, as municipalities are more than capable of managing these affairs themselves. Such a decision is unconscionable based on the Province's stated reluctance to address housing pressures on the grounds that the municipalities know best how to manage their own growth. I instead encourage the Province to give municipalities the liberty to decide their own futures.

We should be investing in a range of transportation options to encourage personal choice in how we commute and get around. The proposed legislation is authoritarian and contrary to personal freedom. Prioritizing active transportation and new investments in public transit—rather than removing bike lanes and constructing the 413 (as noted in the listing)—can reduce the need to expand highways by diverting commuters/travellers into other modes and can help us create more complete, livable communities. Please reconsider this piece of legislation and its impacts on our lives.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment.