I believe bike lanes make a…

I believe bike lanes make a lot of sense in the downtown area where there is a younger demographic who ride their bikes to get around the downtown area.

However, the bike lanes installed along Bloor St in Etobicoke has resulted in chaos and safety hazards for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. There is confusion with the markings and rules of the road. There are visibility issues with the setup having the bike lanes closest to the side walk then parked cars then driving lanes, especially for residents who live on side streets off of Bloor. There are many young families as well as senior citizens in the area who require their cars and would not be able to get around using a bicycle.

I have experienced many unsafe situations as a pedestrian and as a driver in my neighborhood. Some examples:
- cyclists riding on the sidewalk
- cyclists riding in the wrong direction in the bike lane
- cyclist not stopping at crosswalk even though flashing light was on and cars have stopped for me
- cyclists not stopping at stop signs
- cyclists coming out into the driving lane to pass another cyclist
Cyclists should be licensed to ride on the roads and be required to follow the law just like a driver. They should also be required to have insurance in case of accident.

We are now seeing more emergency vehicles going through residential areas to avoid Bloor St. It would be safer for all involved to have the bike lanes on smaller subsidiary streets. There is already a great bike path for cyclists to get across the city along the Lakeshore. Since the installation of the bike lanes, cars are often idling bumper to bumper due to the reduced lanes causing increased air pollution while the bike lanes sit empty. Although the city has stated that the number of riders has increased in the last year, the actual number of riders using the bike lanes is still very small and do not justify the large number of drivers that are affected.

As a side note, the concrete blocks and posts used to create the bike lanes has created an eyesore in our once beautiful neighborhood!

Please fix this disaster and remove the bike lanes before winter approaches to improve conditions for residents and so precious tax dollars are not wasted to maintain the bike lanes which are not used!! Thank you!