Bicycle lanes are efficient,…

Bicycle lanes are efficient, healthy and increasingly popular. But they are not for everyone. Please let local communities decide when and where they are deployed.

I want to remind the committee that Bill 212 will not cause cyclists to migrate back to their station wagons and sedans. It’s not 1974. Today, parking spots, at a cost of $200,000 each are being built in Toronto at a ratio of less than 1 for every 3 new residential units. This ratio must continue to drop as our population swells. Let’s build housing instead of parking. Cycling, along with transit, is here to stay– please don’t stand in its way.

This committee will hear many submissions that remind it that bike lanes save lives. This government will have blood on its hands if the swelling number of individuals on bicycles are forced to merge with individuals who need or choose to manoeuvre 2-ton steel vehicles through our streets. I also want to remind the committee that active transportation, enabled by the complete-streets model, supports the physical and mental health of our workforce. And it appeals disproportionately to the young, creative demographic that will drive the economic growth of our province.

Finally, evidence indicates that cycling, and the infrastructure that supports it, is key to relieving congestion on our roads so that they are available for emergency services, the disabled, deliveries… and motorcades. Please be guided by the plea of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and return to evidence-based policy-making. This government should not punish those citizens who have given up car travel. They are modern-day heroes, making way for those who truly need to travel by car. I encourage this government to celebrate and support cyclists rather than limiting and removing bike lanes.