The governance at a…

The governance at a provincial level is much too broad to be making decisions regarding a municipality's implementation of bike lanes. The decision of municipalities to implement bike lanes should not be decided upon or overruled by provincial authority and should absolutely remain in the jurisdiction of municipalities. Bill 212 is a severe overreach by the Province.

Speaking as a young professional working in the urban planning field and as a daily all-season cycling commuter, there are reams of evidence supporting the benefits of bike lanes for the well-being, health, and safety of all citizens. Bike lanes incentivize people to get active, reduce auto-dependency, and as a result is directly tied to cleaner air and human-scale neighbourhoods. Allowing the removal of bike lanes would cause more congestion incentivizing people to drive and clog up roads, as well as forcing cyclists to take up a lane's width on the road which would slow traffic further. Six cyclists have already perished on the streets of Toronto this year. Removing bike lanes would be moving backwards in our progress as a society—we need more, not fewer bike lanes. Cycling infrastructure (along with alternative transportation infrastructure) make for a more equitable city, so let's make our streets safer and more enjoyable for everyone. I urge the Ministry to look at the overwhelming amount of data supporting the benefits of bike lanes and to make evidence-based decisions.

Additionally, this bill would allow exceptions to be made for certain projects (e.g. Highway 413) to the Environmental Assessment Act. To allow these exemptions for the sake of building faster would be negligent and irresponsible. The appropriate measures must be undertaken to ensure environmentally sustainable development. These measures are in place for accountability. I urge the Ministry to maintain its integrity and commitment to a healthy and sustainable future for all residents.