I regularly drive throughout…

I regularly drive throughout the city. I used to commute from Cityplace to Don Mills & York Mills in North York. I used to work with local teens in Midtown to help them with Math and Science and I would commute from downtown in my car during the after school/work rush hour. I also see the congestion from Spadina heading to and from the Gardiner every day. I am familiar with the issue of traffic in Toronto. And that's what it is — a Toronto issue. Not a provincial issue.

On top of regularly driving through the city, I also bike, and regularly use bike lanes. I use them to run errands, to visit friends, to commute to work, and to exercise. I also regularly walk and use sidewalks (another piece of the road that isn't a car lane).

I wouldn't bike if the bike lanes weren't there. I would drive and make congestion worse by adding another car that could instead be someone on a bike. If you build it they will come. Build bike lanes and people will bike, removing cars from the road, easing traffic. Build more car lanes, and people will fill them with cars. Traffic won't move faster. It will be just as congested, just as slow, just now with more pollution and a less healthy population.

There is no good argument for the Province to 1. be interfering with municipal policy regarding bicycle lanes, and 2. to remove bike lanes from Toronto arteries (in this case Bloor, University, Yonge). Doug — stay in your lane. Let locals in Toronto decide on local issues, don't destroy bike lanes (it's a monumentally bad idea), and find another way to garner voter interest by addressing real issues.

I drive, I bike, I walk, I sit in traffic, I bike responsibly and follow the rules of the road, and I implore you not to interfere with Toronto's bike lanes.