This legislation is not…

This legislation is not based on any evidence. It is completely backwards. Removing bike lanes and adding car lanes is not going to work to reduce congestion. The only way to do that is to reduce the number of single-occupant vehicles on the road. Bike lanes are a key factor in doing that.

The evaluation of the Bloor bike lanes (see link) showed that they were successful in increasing the volume of cyclists while decreasing collisions, with only a minor increase to overall travel time for motorists - an effect which was further mitigated by adjusting the traffic signals.

The Laurier bike lanes in Ottawa (see link) are another similar success story. Again, cycling volumes increased while collisions decreased - for ALL road users, not just cyclists.

The argument that bike lanes should be moved to secondary streets is silly. Bike lanes need to go where the cyclists are. In most cases, that is on main arteries. The cyclists are there for the same reason drivers are - it's the fastest way to get where they're going.

It also makes no sense for the province to involve itself so closely in municipal decisions. City governments know best what works for their citizens. The province should not be coming in and telling cities where they can and can't put bike lanes on streets that they own and manage.

It is beyond ridiculous that in 2024, anyone would be seriously proposing this legislation.