I do not support Doug Fords…

I do not support Doug Fords position on allowing the provincial government to dictate to municipalities where to add bicycle lanes and I certainly do not support the provincial government dictating to my city where they can add and have to remove bicycle lanes.

This should be left up to the municipality itself. Not to somebody who does not live in, visit regularly, or has never even been to a particular city or town.

For every cyclist that the provincial government intimidates into not cycling, not only is not one less car on the road, it is also one more car on the road.

Cyclists have the right to choose this mode transportation just as much as the driver vehicle has a right to choose a motor vehicle for transportation.

For a person to choose cycling as their main mode of transportation, whether it be for environmental reasons, health reasons, financial restrictions, or whatever other reason, cyclists do not deserve to die by being forced onto roadways with 2+ ton death machines when protected infrastructure can allow them to reach their required destinations safely.

Cyclists are people too. They have husbands. They have wives. They have sons. They have daughters. They are somebody’s child.

The bicycle infrastructure of a city should be left up to the municipality. I don’t have a right to tell Kitchener what to do with their bicycle lanes when I live in London. Doug Ford has no business telling my city how to best accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users, and motor vehicle drivers.

The provisional government should be encouraging municipalities in whatever way it can to build environmentally friendly and safe infrastructure for all people to travel.

Eliminating bicycle lanes will not eliminate traffic congestion. It will cause more traffic. It will result in induced demand.

I highly encourage this legislation to be turned down. This is embarrassing legislation to submit from Ontario to the rest of the world. Even more so than building a tunnel under the 401.

The provincial government should be embarrassed by even tabling such legislation.

Don’t destroy the little infrastructure that cyclists have to keep themselves safe while they transit to their destination, while saving money, improving health, and helping to save the environment.

Again, I strongly believe that the design infrastructure should be left up to the municipalities and not some distant bureaucracy.