Toronto needs more safe…

Toronto needs more safe separated bike lanes. All the data shows that if people feel safe biking they do it. More people biking means fewer single occupancy cars on the road and improved traffic for the cars that have to be there. Having broken and incomplete bike lanes makes people feel unsafe biking, which renders the remaining bike lanes less used. Biking is healthier than sitting in a car. It’s easier to stop and lock up a bike to support local businesses than to find (and pay for) parking for a car. Toronto Bike Share ridership is booming. Other cities that have a good network of bike lanes show that people absolutely use them if they’re built and connect all the way from destination to destination. Ford isn’t providing any data for removing bike lanes. Are the bike lanes he has a problem with affecting his personal commute? The premier is supposed to serve Torontonians.

Focus on enforcing traffic laws and fine drivers heavily for breaking them. Have red light cameras for gridlock. Use the funds from that to speed up work and generally improve transit. Don’t allow construction to take up lanes of traffic unless it’s absolutely necessary. Have work around the clock if the construction is taking up a lane. If there are city owned lots that have available space, have an app that directs private utility companies and large delivery vehicles to use them instead of blocking traffic. Don’t allow those vehicles to block traffic during rush hour. Time lights better. Have speed cameras on the Lakeshore with heavy penalties. Have an app that allows cyclists to submit photos of cars stopped in bike lanes or doing other dangerous things. Fine those drivers, use the funds for transit improvements. Penalize cops parked in bike lanes, that aren’t handling an active emergency (not financially, which just means tax payers are paying, if they can’t follow the law it should affect their promotions, bonuses, and ultimately their jobs.) When developers are planning condos, have them include plans to dig for future subways (at the developer’s expense.) Other cities consistently work on their transit systems, Toronto needs to learn from this instead of the piecemeal way that things are done here.

Having more cars in the city will just make traffic worse. We need better options so that people will actually use them.

My 5km+ commute takes roughly the same amount of time on transit or walking. Biking or taking a car are faster and also take about the same amount of time. For a few years, I had a friend who lived by the GO station in Oakville who worked across the street from my work in Toronto. Her commute with the GO train from Oakville to Union, then by subway for a few stops, was faster than my commute from Toronto to Toronto. We need to improve commutes for people within the city instead of focusing on suburban commuters. Locals are the ones that are likely to support local business instead of running for the train or trying to beat car traffic to get home.