The removal of bike lanes is…

The removal of bike lanes is completely and utterly a step backwards for Ontario's urban centres. Bike lanes are a necessary part of our dense communities and cities, specifically in downtown Toronto. Removing bike lanes would be catastrophic for the safety of cyclists, which is truly astounding considering how many cyclists are hit by vehicles each year already. As someone who personally knows a cyclist that was in a very serious accident and almost lost their life due to poor bike lanes and infrastructure in the City of Toronto, seeing this even being considered is beyond devastating. Reducing bike lanes to add vehicle lanes back in, is a step in the wrong direction from both a safety perspective but also from a sustainability standpoint. Adding back one lane will not reduce vehicle traffic on the roads, and arguably it will even increase vehicle traffic as without safe bike infrastructure, cyclists will begin driving. Vehicle emissions will rise and lead to poorer air quality, and increased negative health effects. With climate change and increasing global emissions, now more than ever Ontario needs to be promoting sustainable transit methods and working to reduce vehicle dependency, especially in our dense urban cores like Toronto. I cannot stress enough how completely backwards it is to be removing bike lanes to make more room for cars. We have focused way too much on planning our cities and communities for cars for way too long, we need to start planning our cities for people and their safety.