Unfortunately the Ontario…

Unfortunately the Ontario Government is once again erroneously attributing congestion to cyclists with the proposed Bill 60. If Bill 60 is to pass, we would essentially be eliminating any opportunity to build further biking infrastructure given that the majority of bike lanes are added to existing roadways.

I ride my bike for errands and sometimes to work year round. I have many colleagues who ride year round to the hospital we work at. It's clear to me as a physician that providing people with infrastructure to support safe cycling will have benefits not only for health at the individual level, but also at the provincial level by decreasing air pollution. From a purely economic perspective, healthier individuals and communities will decrease the overall operating budget of the provincial government. During times of austerity, any health care savings which are enabled by cycling should be pursued.

The city of Toronto has been unable to effectively create a strong cycling infrastructure because of the Ford government. Interconnected bike lanes which are maintained enable tentative cyclists to have the confidence to increase the frequency of trips taken by bike, which ultimately improves congestion by removing cars from the road. The city of Oulu in Finland is known for their well maintained cycling infrastructure and people cycle there year round. With it's relatively temperate climate (in comparison to Finland), year round cycling in Toronto could be easily achieved with sufficient bike lanes supported not only by our local government, but also our provincial government.

Please reconsider Bill 60. Approval of this bill will not only have negative impacts on the health of your constituents and communities, but will contribute to traffic congestion by eliminating opportunities to develop safe active transportation infrastructure.