Commenting as a resident of…

Commenting as a resident of Toronto:

This is absolutely ridiculous and the removal of bike lanes isn't going to reduce gridlock. Cars must give all cyclists a minimum safe distance, so the removal of bike lanes will force cyclists to share the lane with cars causing more congestion. The cars will have the treat the cyclist with the minimum distance and let them into the lane.

If the province is so invested in reducing congestion in the city (not their job), then they should invest the money into facilitating infrastructure that allows people to use as many varied means of transport as possible to reduce the number of people in cars. This has been shown to be effective multiple time throughout Europe and other cities. The money spent on dismantling the bike lane on bloor could go towards the TTC to ensure fast, smooth, uninterrupted commutes. Or it could go towards literally any other service the provincial government has decided to cut back on (healthcare, education, etc).

I am born and raised in Toronto. I live in vibrant downtown communities. Having a car has never been a need to navigate the city and having multiple options is great. The overreach of the provincial government in this matter of the city is disgusting and should not be happening. Cars make navigating the city an absolute pain. Buses are stuck because of someone trying to make a left turn at an intersection for several lights. Streetcars can't go forwards because someone is blocking the intersection. If you want to decrease congestion makes all streetcar routes their own dedicated lane so it's the fastest option and there are less cars on the road.

I specifically continue to live in Toronto because it's a commuting, bike friendly city. If I wanted to live in a car based city I'd go to Etobicoke or some other suburb. It is genuinely disgusting this amount of overreach and the absolute waste of resources that will be spent if this bill goes through.