I am a car driver, a…

I am a car driver, a bicyclist, a wife, mother of two children. It upsets me that bicycle lanes have become a political wedge issue in this province when the focus should be on the right for people to be able to choose a mode of transportation and get to where they want to go safely.

As a health care worker taking care of acutely ill patients in one of the hospitals in downtown Toronto, biking to and from work using the Danforth, Bloor Street, and University Avenue bike lanes has been essential for me.

Biking has not only been an effective way to help me and my family live within our means, it has also improved my physical and mental health, both of which were severely tested as I helped to treat patients during the Covid pandemic.

It has been a joy for me to see my children bike safely along Danforth Avenue and observe how the bike lanes have increased foot traffic at local businesses and livened up the neighbourhood in which we live.

Removing bike lanes for more car lanes is not a long-term solution to relieving traffic congestion. More car lanes will only result in induced demand (ie more cars on the road) and endanger the lives of people like me who will be forced to share the road with faster, heavier moving vehicles. As I am sure you are aware, 2024 has been one of the worst years in recent memory when it comes to bicyclist deaths.

Continuing to build safe bicycle infrastructure in this city and expanding public transit are the only long-term solutions to the congestion issue we currently face.

It is for these reasons that I urge you to reconsider Bill 212.