Our focus should be to move…

Our focus should be to move PEOPLE faster, not move drivers faster. Everyone deserves to get to where they need to be quickly, safely, and in an affordable manner. That’s not going to be accomplished by driving, and certainly not my highways. Although necessary in rural/remote parts of the province, highways are the most expensive, most harmful, and least efficient way to move people. If this government cared about reducing gridlock, we’d be trying to get as many cars off the road as possible by building valid alternatives like better mass transit. Then, only those who need to drive will be driving and they will find themselves enjoying much less gridlock with the rest of us out of the way.

Cities around the world have finally caught onto what the Dutch and Nordic countries learned decades ago: bike lanes save lives, improve traffic, improve public health, increase community engagement, are good for the economy, and are good for the environment. We need more bike lanes, not fewer. Bike lanes along important arterial roads are important if cycling is to be a valid mode of transportation. If you needed to get to work, are you going to take the main roads that get you there directly or are you going to meander through side streets? Business on Yonge and Bloor especially have not only saved lives, they’ve increased the number of customers that visit the businesses there. These lanes are frequently used, and I know many people who have given up driving in favour of cycling now that it is so safe and convenient. Removing these lanes will remove this good work. The locally owned business that rely on the customers those bike lanes bring in to pay Toronto’s sky high rent will suffer. Hospitals benefit greatly from the University lanes, as fewer cars means less exhaust and vehicle noise in an area where people are at their most vulnerable health state. Plus, ambulances use side streets around the hospitals to access the ER, not University. Removing the lanes on University will have a dire impact on sick people and hospital access. EMS has never stated that the bike lanes in University impede their work.

Ultimately, the province is proposing to use provincial taxpayer money to destroy the economic, environmental, social, and health benefits enjoyed by residents in a single city. Not only is removing bike lanes moving every impacted area backwards, it is a massive misuse of funds that should be going to provincial issues. The money spent on removing bike lanes would be much better spent on housing, healthcare, and education for EVERYONE in Ontario. Let cities deal with municipal issues. Stay in your lane.