I strongly oppose this…

I strongly oppose this legislation. First, the allocation space within municipally owned public rights of way is fundamentally a local issue best left to municipal councils, not the Province. Second, the criteria is too narrowly focused on movement of motor vehicles and should be focused on moving people agnostic of how they choose to move. Third, the legislation does not consider the broader costs, benefits, and risk of decision-making. Just like Metrolinx justifies the cost and disruption if major transit investments by their long term 30+ year lifecycle benefits—in travel time savings, GHG emissions, safety, etc.—so too must right of way reallocation decisions. This is the fundamental duty of our governments to thing behind the reactionary short term to future generations. Bike lanes in some instances may result in a short term increase in travel times, but the research is overwhelmingly conclusive that route and mode changes occur in the short term to adjust to the new network conditions. And since bike lanes have the potential to carry multiples more people per lane width than auto lanes, and every trip by bike saves OHIP money over the long term (opposite for car trips), it is imperative we set up our networks to encourage this shift, even if there is short term pain. Be bold. At the very least leave these decisions to cities.