As a resident of downtown…

As a resident of downtown Toronto, I see that cyclists do use their bike lanes all day long, but especially during the rush hours.

Cyclists are very vulnerable to motor traffic; so many cars now are huge SUV's with high noses, and I wonder if the drivers can even see properly over the hoods.

With all the construction in the City, there are many dump trucks and other large vehicles, as well as all the delivery and service vehicles. If cyclists don't have safe lanes on major roads, they will use the sidewalks where they are a menace to pedestrians.

Others have provided the facts about traffic and cyclist volumes. I would just like to note a couple of things about University Avenue. Firstly, staff at the many hospitals requested bike lanes for their safety in getting to and from work, partly because they work shifts and may be out during the hours of darkness. Secopndly, there used to be on-street parking on the east side norht of Queen Street, so a lane was previously taken away from moving traffic there.

Under our constitution, cities are "creatures of the provinces". They have very little power, especially over taxation. Why does the Province of Ontario want to get into small local issues like bike lanes in cities? Let local elected officials decide on local
issues that affect their citizens.