I am writing to voice my…

I am writing to voice my opposition to the proposed legislative and regulatory changes listed in the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, specifically Schedule 5 of Bill 60. The Legislative Amendments that Bill 60 proposes amendments to the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) (prohibition of municipalities from reducing motor vehicle lanes when installing, implementing or marking new bicycle lanes) is not only detrimental to municipal function and self-regulation, it is also a dangerous overstep by the Provincial Government under Doug Ford. Removing a municipalities ability to effectively determine and implement transportation alternatives, if approved of and voted for by the people in said municipality, will knee-cap developments and make roads more dangerous for citizens.

Most drivers will admit that they do not want cyclists on the road, much like how Pedestrians will espouse that they do not want cyclists on the sidewalk (where they become a risk!). By passing these amendments, you disregard both groups of your constituents and force cyclists themselves to make a dangerous judgement; put themselves at risk on roadways that are not designed for them or put others at risk and ride where they are not supposed to.

In regards specifically to the Environmental Implications, the proposed changes will not only NOT decrease congestion and traffic standstills, it will do the opposite. Many different research papers have been published on the subject, with data sets from major cities around the globe. They all come to the same conclusion; Bike Lanes make roads safer by providing a calming effect (Hannah Younes, Clinton Andrews, Robert B. Noland, Jiahao Xia, Song Wen, Wenwen Zhang, Dimitri Metaxas, Leigh Ann Von Hagen, Jie Gong, The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes, Journal of Urban Mobility, Volume 5, 2024, 100071, ISSN 2667-0917, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2024.100071. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667091724000013)), allowing citizens more choices when it comes to how they travel(https://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/6597/file/659…), and increasing commerce (https://www.tcat.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Bloor-Economic-Impact-St…). The presumption that Bike Lanes will lead to increased traffic is based on flimsy evidence and poor city planning. If there are no alternatives for travel in the city, car use will increase and force more vehicles onto the road. For every single driver that swaps to riding a bike, we REMOVE AN ENTIRE CAR LENGTH OF TRAFFIC, while being able to fit a significantly higher number of riders on the bike lane.

I urge the Provincial Government to reconsider their stance and push for more egalitarian and progressive policies in their future Bill's and amendments.