I strongly oppose this…

I strongly oppose this proposal in its current form. I am a physician working and living in a large urban centre in Ontario. I am both a driver and cyclist, and as someone who spends time both in a car and on a bike I think this proposal is an ineffective and - worse - harmful policy.

My work involves doing medical outreach to individuals who experience complex medical conditions. My work is effective in preventing costly hospitalization. The only way I'm able to accommodate the high patient volumes I see is by cycling. If I had to take public transit or drive, I would spend too much time in transit and have to cut 2-3 patient visits per day. This would likely result in overall increased healthcare utilization for these patients, not to mention worse quality of care.

I only feel safe cycling to work like this because of bike lanes. As a physician, I am able to effectively assess the evidence which is clear: bike lanes save lives. By eliminating building new bike lanes and expanding the options for people to safely travel around their cities, the province will directly be harming its citizens. There will be increases in emergency department utilization, head injuries with long term economic costs (both in healthcare costs and loss of productively), and more chronic illness as people have less options to engage in an active lifestyle that prevents disease. It is shameful, unethical, and appalling that this province would create a proposed policy that is so directly harmful to its constituents.

Moreover, this proposal will result in these harms without providing any benefit! This government's own experts have opined that bike lanes are not the cause of gridlock. Eliminating the possibility of building new bike lanes will make the roads more dangerous without fixing any of the challenges with traffic facing our cities. In fact - traffic will only get worse as more people are forced into their cars to get to their jobs, families, and recreational activities.

Finally, I also oppose this proposal on principle. It strips cities of local authority and decision-making, even when projects are supported by evidence and local residents.

This provincial government must reconsider its prohibition on vehicle lane reduction for new bicycle lanes. There are many examples of cities across the world that have productively comingled support for cars and for safe cycling, allowing citizens many options for getting to where they need to go quickly and safely. This province must become more creative in its thinking, listen to its own experts, and - most importantly - protect the health and safety of its citizens. This policy must be reconsidered.