I am strongly opposed to…

I am strongly opposed to Bill 212. While it claims to improve transportation, it neglects the reality that 44% of Toronto residents are utility cyclists (City of Toronto, 2019). With the increasing costs of living, fewer and fewer people can afford to drive a car. By not going into debt to drive cars we can't afford, we are more able to contribute back to the local economy. Additionally, traffic congestion in Toronto has been a problem pre-dating bike lanes, and with cuts to TTC service, cycling is one of the easiest, most reliable ways to commute around the city.

Bill 212 treats cyclists like second class citizens who are undeserving of a reasonable amount of safety. This infrastructure puts in place the legally required 1 meter distance that cars have to give cyclists. Without these partitions, cars regularly encroach on cyclists causing frequent accidents. As a cyclist who has been hit by cars twice, I would know. Both of these accidents happened on streets with no bike lane when a car swerved into me.

Bike lanes provide critical infrastructure that enable people to commute around Toronto in an effective, safe, and cost effective way—and they cost taxpayers nothing to leave in place, but $48 million dollars to remove. Leave them alone.