It is disheartening to read…

It is disheartening to read Bill 212 - Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 and the framework for bike lanes that require removal of a traffic lane. I am firmly against Bill 212. The environmental and human health impacts of this Bill are glaring. The idea that saving a few minutes of drive-time (only 30-35 minutes; Goverment of Ontario, 2024) on the highway and city streets is worth such a cost is irresponsible and shows a complete disregard for science and decades of environmental, engineering, and city planning studies and data.

Building larger roads does not ease traffic. There have been many studies which have shown that building bigger highways and adding lanes only leads to induced demand. In other words, when highways are built and lanes are added, more cars will use them, leading to more traffic (Cervaro, 2001; Goodwin, 1996; Lee 1999). In the current environmental crisis, I am disappointed that our government continues to make decisions which prioritize cars and car infrastructure. Studies have found that on the Toronto corridor of Highway 401 alone, vehicles emit 3771 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually (Shamsi et al., 2021). The government should be looking for solutions to decrease the number of cars on the road, not increase it. Studies have shown that "[t]he transportation sector has the highest potential for environmental and health cost reductions amongst other energy-related sectors" (Shamsi et al., 2021). We need a government which takes this statement seriously. We need a government which looks for alternatives to car infrastructure to help alleviate commute times while making decisions which are best for the environment (i.e., bike paths and lanes, promoting walkable cities instead of building car-dependent exurbs, funding reliable and affordable regional transit, etc.).

Besides the environmental impact of highways and cars, there is also a real impact to human health. Shamsi et al. (2021) estimates that the health cost of air pollution from Highway 401 traffic is 416 million dollars per year. Increasing the number of cars on the road will only increase the amount of air pollution. Removing bike infrastructure also endangers lives. In Toronto in 2024 alone, 6 cyclists have died on the streets (CBC, 2024). It is disturbing that the debate around bike infrastructure on city streets is pitting driver inconvenience against peoples lives. There have been many heart-breaking cases where bike lanes could have saved lives such as the story of Alex Amaro who was killed while cycling on Dufferin Street (Knope, 2020). It is irresponsible to put peoples lives at risk in order to save drivers a few minutes or seconds of commute time. Instead, governments should be looking for alternate forms of transportation which are better for people and the environment.

In cities (and I will speak from a Toronto perspective, as that is where many of the bike infrastructure projects are), studies have shown that many people who use the major streets access them by foot or transit (over 70% of people in the Annex/Korea Town neighbourhood) and that "these visitors' journeys were mostly unaffected by the street's reconfiguration [i.e., adding a bike lane]" (Smith et al., 2019). If the majority of people accessing these urban areas are not driving, the government should make decisions in the best interest of pedestrians and transit users instead of motorists. The government should be making these streets more accessible to pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users instead of drivers. There will always be people who are upset about bike lanes. We need a government that looks to real data and prioritizes peoples lives over driver inconvenience.

Ultimately, until there are viable options for driving (i.e., good bike infrastructure, reliable municipal transit, frequent and affordable regional transit), there will always be gridlock. Always. Adding more highways, more car lanes, and removing bike infrastructure will never be the answer.