I have been a resident in…

I have been a resident in the Queen’s Park District/Bay Cloverhill Community Association (BCCA) area for the last 26 years. The boundaries of the BCCA are Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent West, College Street, Yonge Street and Charles Street West. See:
Bay Cloverhill Community Association - Bay Cloverhill Community Association
The Ontario Legislative building sits within this mixed use community.
I have seen the neighbourhood grow from 4, 000 residents to more than 18, 000 residents. When I first moved into the area there were narrow sidewalks, no cycling infrastructure and no Toronto Bike Share stations. When the BCCA members did cycling counts to support the creation of bike lanes on Wellesley Street we talked to the children, college and university students, health care workers, office workers, and seniors cycling on the street. They often mentioned how unsafe that they felt cycling in mixed traffic. Protected cycling routes were mentioned as a way to make all the major Streets such as Wellesley Street, University Avenue/Queen’s Park, Yonge Street, College Street and Bloor Street safer for all transportation users.
From doing litter clean ups, graffiti removal, forming a Friends of Queen’s Park group and working on six community gardens in the area I have gotten to know my neighbourhood very well. I have seen a massive increase in people walking and cycling in the area. I have seen more of the parking spaces in residential buildings in the area become unused and the bike storage rooms having to expand capacity due to much higher demand from cyclists. I have watched families with children grow up and decide to stay in the area because of its amenities and active and safe active transportation options.
Five years ago I was nearby killed while cycling southbound on Queen’s Park in the curb lane just south of the ROM. The road then did not have any painted or delineated cycling infrastructure. The road was slick from a light early evening rain. I could see people in Queen’s Park ahead recreating in the park. Three vehicles were drag racing southbound on Avenue Road and Queen’s Park. The vehicles started to skid as they approached the north end of Queen’s Park. I was in the curb lane and had to fall on the curb to not get hit by the speeding and skidding vehicles. One of the vehicles went air bound, rolled ,collided with and destroyed a mature tree and park bench in Queen’s Park. The driver and passenger jumped out of the car and ran, not even caring if they might have killed someone on the road or park.
When the pilot bike lanes and later cycle track was put in on Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent West and East and University Avenue speeding dropped significantly. The area is much safer pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and drivers. This cycling infrastructure keeps our large food delivery by bike workers safe and efficient.
My profession is City Planning. Complete streets implement City Council approved Vision Zero objectives and make streets safer for all transportation users – drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. Cycling infrastructure attracts young talent to the GTA. Researchers like Richard Florida (The Rise of the Creative Class) and companies like Amazon know this. Complete streets and cycling infrastructure make for a more economically competitive GTA. If Ontarians have transportation options that include active transportation they will have more money available to buy housing.

I am a senior working full time. My primary mode of transportation is by bike – both Toronto Bike Share and my own bike. I choose to not own a car. The removal of the complete streets on University Avenue, Yonge Street and Bloor Street will put my life and others at risk daily by having to cycle in mixed traffic. I ask the sections of Bill 212 that relate to removal of the cycle tracks on University Avenue , Yonge Street and Bloor Street or references to the removal of any cycling infrastructure in Ontario be taken out of the proposed legislation.