I love Toronto because it is…

I love Toronto because it is a livable city! I am a car owner, a cyclist, a pedestrian, and a user of the TTC, I also take cabs and Uber rides to get around. Since the installation of the bike lanes on Bloor and on University, I feel safer moving about the city on my bike than I did when having to share a lane with cars. It’s simply a faster way to get places. If I choose to take my own car, it simply adds to the traffic. On my bike, I breeze past the traffic, made up mostly of single occupancy vehicles, though often the bike lane is crowded too. I always choose to use protected bike lanes where I can. If there isn’t a protected bike lane option. I’ll often choose another means of transportation that will add to congestion.
As a pedestrian, I feel safer on sidewalks with the added protection of a bike lane.
As a driver, I feel safer driving with separated bike lanes because it’s easier to understand and predict the position and movement of cyclists.
The TTC is so underfunded that the reduction in service and increased crowding make it less efficient. We need to put more money towards effective public transit.
GET PEOPLE OUT OF CARS WHERE POSSIBLE SO THAT THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE OTHER OPTIONS CAN HAVE SPACE. THE ONLY WAY TO REDUCE CONGESTION IS TO REDUCE CARS. If you take away the bike lanes, bikes will either mix in with existing car traffic, or cyclists like me will choose to take our own automobile, adding to congestion.
I strongly agree with the statement from the Bloor Annex BIA that our main streets are not meant to be highways. If the concern is businesses being affected, then pedestrians and cyclists are far more likely to stop than a car speeding by at 50km/hr.
Perhaps consider the European model of intersections with timing for bike, pedestrian and car crossing at separate times.