Commentaire
I am opposed to removing bike lanes. When I ride a bicycle, I am grateful that the road is safe and I don't have to worry about being hit by a car. Sadly, there have already been six people who have died riding their bike in the City of Toronto this year. I think we can all agree that one is too many. A world class city should not have this problem. I know the City has a Vision Zero target to eliminate cycling and pedestrian deaths, but I don't see how the city will get there without a protected bike lane on one of the only major east west routes for people who ride their bike to get to their job, the store, or to get home. Knowing that removing these bike lanes increases the chance of injury or death for somebody who is using a bicycle to live their life and get around is deeply troubling to me.
I also occasionally do drive. When I'm driving, I'm honestly grateful to be on roads where there are bike lanes. I feel it's safer for both the cyclist and myself as a driver as I don't have to worry about suddenly needing to change lanes or being stuck behind a cyclist for long stretches of time. Removing the bike lanes simply means the cyclists will now be sharing the traffic lanes with cars. After all, people riding bikes have the same priorities as people driving. They're trying to get to work, get home, pick up some groceries, etc. As you may be able to tell, safety is something I care a lot about. As I also understand from the Toronto Deputy Fire Chief, there has been no ill effect on wait times for EMS and, in fact, response times have improved!
I know since the pandemic that car sales have increased dramatically. Similarly, I know that the population in the GTA has grown. It's easy to look at bike lanes and say this is the problem causing congestion. However, I think we can agree that congestion is a problem everywhere including streets where there are no bike lanes and on highways (Certainly I see this when I'm driving). There are more people driving than ever. To me, the solution to this problem is ultimately in improving public transit and I know your government has made some investments here, like the Ontario Line and GO expansion, that will ultimately help but will take years to build. There's more that can be done to invest in public transit though and removing bike lanes won't change the number of cars or people driving on city streets.
Safer cycling infrastructure creates more incentives for people to cycle, which in turn is a net benefit to the environment as more people chooses to bike than drive, which reduces emissions from cars.
Lastly, I'm concerned about the broader issue of how my taxpayer dollars will be used. Removing bike lanes will cost money. Who is going to pay for this and what could that money be used for instead that would actually have a positive impact for everyone? I don't think it is a good use of my tax dollars to rip out needed infrastructure. Moreover, I think the broader issues of requiring new bike lanes to be approved by a cabinet minister is needless red tape. What qualifications does a cabinet minister have to understand local context in communities that are not his own? It's counterintuitive that someone not from my community should be able to tell my community what is best. I would hope here again we can agree that this isn't very democratic and can only add red tape to the work that city councils are trying to do on behalf of their own communities. I'd rather my tax dollars be used more thoughtfully and let local communities decide what's best for their community.
Soumis le 25 octobre 2024 11:13 AM
Commentaire sur
Projets de loi 212 – Loi de 2024 sur le désengorgement du réseau routier et le gain de temps - Cadre en matière de pistes cyclables nécessitant le retrait d’une voie de circulation.
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019-9266
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106132
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