Hi, I am in favour of…

Hi, I am in favour of keeping the bike lanes on Bloor St. I have been hit by cars twice. The first time was on Bloor St close to Islington, and the other time was in a residential neighbourhood south of Bloor St and east of Royal York. I would like to openly challenge Doug Ford to cycle from Etobicoke to downtown without a bike lane every day. If he can do that, I'll change my mind. I promise.

Due to these near-death scares, I used to drive from Etobicoke to my office downtown every day. I couldn't take the subway due to my extreme anxiety in crowded environments. It is also impossible to wind my way through residential streets to get downtown, so I never used to bike. I would challenge anyone who says "move the bike lanes to a smaller street" to plot a route that is not twice as far as the straight shot down Bloor St and University Ave.

When the bike lanes were opened on Bloor St and University Ave, I was able to start cycling to work and back. I get my groceries along the way in the Royal York and Bloor neighbourhood. I am much happier, much safer, and I am saving money on car maintenance and gas. Furthermore, I have become one less car on the road, making it safer and less congested for everyone.

Opening up one extra lane on Bloor St will turn a traffic snarl of 20 backed-up vehicles into 40 backed-up vehicles. The reason why drivers don't see the constant flow of cyclists is that we're not stuck beside their window. 80 cyclists can queue up in the same space as 6 cars.

The Ford government is simply pushing this legislation as a way to divert from the fact that they want to skip the need for environmental assessments for new highways. They have no evidence, no studies, no third-party assessments that demonstrate any rational reason to remove bike lanes. Perhaps they have never traveled to world class cities that all have great economies, great public transportation systems, and excellent cycling infrastructure.