Protected bike lanes save…

Protected bike lanes save lives, encourage healthy activity as part of everyday life, and improve total commuter throughput. The proposed bike lane removals in Toronto would actually encourage more people to drive along those streets through induced demand and removal of travel options.

In purely fiscal conservative arguments, the proposed bill is myopic. It would cost 10s of millions of dollars to remove the bike lanes, reduce incomes for local businesses along those streets (average store revenue in the Danforth is up since the lanes were introduced), and emergency service costs would increase with increased injuries from collisions (plus the additional medical costs and lost labour costs).

From a small government perspective, this bill goes against each value of the Conservative party. Let the cities govern themselves, and allow people the option to travel how they wish. You want a car, from a small Prius to a huge lifted truck? Go for it, that's your right to choose. Do you want to ride a bike or scooter, or walk? That is up to the individual. Removing these bike lanes limits options, and forces more people into cars, probably raising household debts.

This bill serves only to stick it to Toronto, nothing more.