I am a 4th year Planning…

I am a 4th year Planning student at the University of Waterloo with academic and professional training in transportation planning. I am concerned about this act's intention to remove cycling lanes. My main concerns are summarized below:

- Bike lanes are not causing congestion--cars are. Gridlock can be solved by improving alternative modes of transportation that take up less space, like bike lanes and transit. Removing cycling facilities and replacing them with travel lanes will cause latent demand from vehicles and will only worsen congestion.

- Bike lanes save lives. Keeping transportation modes separate improves safety for all road users.

- Ontarians should be moving away from car dependency. For reducing emissions, improving public health outcomes, and supporting local businesses, we need to keep active transportation facilities.

- Removing existing cycling lanes, or delaying projects that have already been approved by municipal councils, will cost Ontarians millions of dollars.

I am excited about how complete some of the cycling networks in our province have become. Removing bike lanes on streets like University and Bloor in Toronto and O'Connor in Ottawa will

Rather than spending millions of taxpayer dollars on removing infrastructure we've just paid for, I would like to see the province investing in making it easier for people to use this infrastructure year-round. Especially in Toronto, where it seems this act is focused, we need to come to terms with the fact that there simply is not enough space to move millions of private automobiles through the downtown core. Freeing up one lane will not solve this, and will force everyone who had switched to cycling back into their cars. Consider how removing key active transportation arteries will induce demand and worsen the gridlock problem.

I also think it's inappropriate for the province to interfere with municipal issues. Many Ontario municipalities are building cycling facilities outlined in their Transportation Master Plans, which undergo rigorous public consultation processes and are approved by Council. Municipal governments know their cities best and have already developed evidence-based tools, which are supported by the public, to improve their transportation networks.

Finally, I am concerned that the Minister's office will be in charge of approving requests from municipalities. This stipulation shows how this act is not evidence-based and is purely political. These requests should be sent to Ontario bureaucrats with expertise in transportation planning and engineering.

I urge the province to reconsider this act and develop evidence-based policies. Ontarians don't want this.