As a driver, cyclist,…

As a driver, cyclist, constituent and engineering student living in Markham - Stouffville, this bill will only worsen congestion. The cyclists don't just stay at home, you'll either force cyclists to take the existing lane or make them take the car. It makes driving downtown more uncomfortable and makes me as a cyclist feel at constant danger. Expediting the highway 413 and Bradford bypass will only further more urban sprawl and strain on our highway network and create induced demand. Spending money to remove bike lane might one of the most stupid fiscal decisions ever, when the money could be used to improve our transit system and more bike infrastructure, which is the only way to solve congestion. BIAs are against this, citing increasing business profits. Emergency services said that they've improved response times!

I know this from personal evidence and data from bike share Toronto that cyclists are far from a "fringe minority", almost all of my friends either bring their own bike or use bike share to get around the city, and I always see dozens of bikes riding out in Bloor Yonge and University. Cycling in the winter is also more and more popular, and is achievable with proper salting and plowing, contrary to the myth of "6 months bike lanes can't be used". I've cycled myself for the entire year, only stopping during heavy snowstorms or extreme cold.

Side streets don't work here; the exceptions like Shaw and Palmerston have bike lanes already! I'm not riding for fun, I'm writing to get places which are located on the main arterials, and side streets require circuitous routing, navigating parked cars, and are dangerous when crossing a busy intersection since they don't have traffic signals.

Doug has said himself back in 2017 that I cyclist death is too much and how he only feels safe with protected infrastructure and I do believe he was a honest good man. Catering to populism for election purposes only serves to divide Ontario and waste money pointlessly. Please, leave the bill and let the cities decide if they should add bike infrastructure. Don't let this kill and maim more people.

Here are some sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bike-lanes-impacts-1.7358319
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000145751930658X
https://www.tvo.org/article/debunking-three-big-myths-about-bike-lanes