Living in the Dovercourt…

Living in the Dovercourt Village area of Toronto, I have come to enjoy grabbing a bike share bicycle and heading to the store to pick up a thing or two. I have a car, but it's much more of a headache to try and find parking. I don't have a bicycle of my own, but have been thinking of selling my car because of my proximity to the subway, bus lines, and the bike lane on Bloor, and instead getting a bike -- renting a car if I need. I grew up in the suburbs, and only cycled for leisure, but now that I have separated cycling lanes that get me straight to the stores on Bloor, I use them because I feel safe using them. With the proposed legislation to remove bicycle lanes on Bloor, it makes me reconsider selling my car. Another person holding you up because I'm turning but you're going through. One more car making it through that light before it turns red for you. Or one less car because I'm on a bike, which takes up a lot less room than a car. I have family on the East End of Toronto, just off Danforth, and have taken a bike to visit them -- it's the same time to bike, subway, or drive, and on a bike I don't have to pay anything. It's a couple turns before I'm on Bloor/Danforth, and then one more before I arrive. If bike lanes are put on side streets, this turns into a convoluted mess of a trip that no one will take because it's not straightforward, and longer, pushing cyclists onto Bloor St anyway.

I walk more than I bike, and the bike lanes help provide a safe buffer between the drivers and the sidewalk; the unfortunate reality is that people on sidewalks are hit all the time. I've been able to convince a couple friends to come biking with me, and being on bike allows us to quickly hop off and go get some ice cream, or stop in at a store. If bike lanes aren't on avenues with stores, this just won't happen. If I'm in a car with a friend driving to a destination, we don't stop along the way. Businesses will be negatively impacted by having bike lanes removed.

This legislation is complete overreach, clearly designed to distract from real issues, and bolster the base in the face of an early election. Not only will removing cycling infrastructure not solve the issue of congestion, it will endanger so many people -- drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

I am completely against this legislation and I urge you to pander to your base with something else, and drop this awful legislation from Bill 212.