Smart streets provide…

Smart streets provide options for people to access and travel through them using all modes of transportation; pedestrian, cycling, and motorized. Properly designed bike lanes are an important feature in this design, keeping cyclists and pedestrians safe, while keeping traffic flowing for drivers.

The province should not be involved in dictating where cities can employ dedicated cycling infrastructure. Cities have staff incuding urban planners and consultantion specialists who know the city best and the needs of its occupants. The city staff are also invested in the success of small main-street bsuinesses, most of which are accessed on foot or by bike, not by car. To promote small business and thriving local communities, bike lines should be ecouraged, not politically penalized.

The crush of traffic experienced in cities like Toronto are not a result of bike lines. It is the result of poorly coordinated construction work (often by provincial partners, such as MetroLinx and MTO) and an unecessery return-to-office mandate, forcing more people to commute in private vehicles from outside of transit-serviced areas to downtown offices. By expanding commuter rail service, incentivizing public transit, and taking trucks off the 401, "rush hour" could be greatly reduced.