I oppose the Ontario…

I oppose the Ontario government's proposal to rip out existing bicycle lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue in Toronto as well as put in place significant obstacles to the construction of new bicycle facilities where a lane of traffic is to be removed. The proposal is misguided and mean-spirited, ignores the abundance of technical evidence on the efficacy of bicycles lanes and the actual causes of traffic congestion, and represents a completely inappropriate encroachment of the Province into what should rightfully be an area of exclusively municipal jurisdiction.

The proposal also ignores the government's own policies, namely the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 that came into effect barely a month ago and states, "Healthy, active, and inclusive communities should be promoted by... planning public streets, spaces, and facilities to be safe, meet the needs of persons of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, foster social interaction and facilitate active transportation and community connectivity".

Following through on this proposal will incur entirely unnecessary costs while doing little to relieve congestion for automobile drivers. This waste may be compounded in the future as there is very much a non-zero chance that these actions will be undone by future governments, resulting in the need to spend even more scarce public funds to reinstate the removed bicycle facilities.

Finally, it should be recognized there is a considerable health and safety dimension to this proposal. Currently, there are already an unacceptable number of dangerous interactions between automobiles and bicycles in Ontario communities, in part due to a lack of adequate bicycle infrastructure. The facilities constructed along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in Toronto, as well as in other locations across the province, have begun to address this need. Is the government prepared for the inevitable finger pointing when significant injuries or fatalities occur in locations that previously had separated bicycle lanes in place?