I live in Toronto’s…

I live in Toronto’s Davenport riding. The nature of my job is such that my job site is always changing, and it is therefore essential for me to own a car and drive to work most days. I also love to ride my bike around the city and will take any chance to use my bike to get somewhere when it is convenient.
As a regular driver and occasional cyclist I am vehemently opposed to bill 212 for the following reasons:

- [ ] I feel much more comfortable driving when I am separated from cyclists. I’m not worried I’m going to hit them. And of course I feel more safe cycling in a protected lane than in a lane with cars. Bike lanes prevent deaths.
- [ ] Bike lanes give people alternatives to driving and transit. This makes for less cars on the road. The removing of bike lanes will likely not speed up traffic, there is plenty of research that supports this.
- [ ] a conservative government should not be promoting adding red tape and bureaucracy to the development of transport networks in cities.
- [ ] We should be building towards a carbon-neutral future. And building bike infrastructure is a very cost effective way of doing so.
- [ ] There is no feasible east-west route on side streets to replace the Bloor lane. The major arteries are the only roads that cut uninterrupted through the city of Toronto
- [ ] The exemption of the planned highway 413 from the Environmental Assessment Act would allow for significant damage to natural heritage, hydrological features and to the Greenbelt system, robbing us of ecosystems that keep us healthy

The idea of removing bike lanes to speed up traffic is nonsense. I suspect the bike lane issue is just a distraction from the easing of environmental protections to get the 413 built.
This bill is rooted in ignorance and corruption. The corruption of the premiere himself in seeking to open up our greenbelt to wealthy developers.
This destructive bill will only serve to keep us trapped in the age of car-dependent development, and really just reflects an antiquated view of the world.