A CBC article from Jan 2024…

A CBC article from Jan 2024 said: "The TTC's Dufferin bus route received a mock gold award Wednesday for being Toronto's slowest bus route, with a peak travel time of 10.6 km/h. The Jane bus route came second with a peak travel time of 16.3 km/h, while third place went to the Steeles West route for a peak travel time of 17.5 km/h." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-slowest-bus-route-duffer…

And guess what? Neither of these roads have bike lanes. Neither does Eglinton or St Clair, which are parallel to Bloor and also get bumper to bumper traffic.

Bike lanes are not causing congestion or gridlock. There is no evidence to support this. If you really wanted to improve the ability to drive on main roads, then the government should remove parking from main roads. Especially if your argument is that we need to "get people moving". Then remove parking and continue to support bikelanes. This is an easy way to open up more traffic lanes while supporting alternative forms of transportation.

Biking is an important transportation method for people in Toronto. "Bike Share Toronto statistics show that ridership on its network of shared bikes has increased dramatically since 2015, when 665,000 bike trips were made annually. In 2023, that shot up to 5.7 million trips." https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bike-lanes-impacts-1.7358319

For the record, I have never biked in Toronto. I think it's too dangerous. If I was killed by a vehicle while riding a bike, I am certain the Premier would not care and would not see it as an issue that needs to be addressed. I own a car and drive around Toronto often enough to know this issue first hand.

But why are we only supporting cars to get around? What about people who can't afford a car? What about teenagers who can't drive yet? Or what about the people who actually live in Toronto? Why aren't they more important than the people who commute here.

I do not believe this decision is being made to impact any other city in Ontario. I think it's being made to pander to areas in the GTA that vote conservative and travel to Toronto for work or to attend events. The government has yet to cite any evidence that would support this decision. And worse, originally it was going to require evidence from municipalities but now apparently, we are just going to rip up bike lanes along the Premier's commute to work? This is awful decision-making and will be so damaging to pedestrian and biker's safety. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars to make infrastructure such a partisan topic. If you are going to use my tax dollars to do something, you should have evidence to say why it is a good decision.

It is ridiculous to think we should be supporting more cars to travel through Toronto. It is not viable. We will never be able to build the infrastructure to support that. What is another lane on 3 roads in Toronto going to do to address gridlock? Why is the 401 packed if bikes are the cause of congestion?

Toronto is becoming a major city and the government needs to stop treating it like some mid-sized town. No one expects to drive to their job in downtown Manhattan, or Paris, or London. We need to invest in alternative forms of transportation and accept that driving in the most densely populated city in Canada is not an option for everyone.

The government's decision to remove bike lanes has no evidence. It is going to worsen safety for people in Toronto. It is going to worsen congestion by removing alternative forms of transportation. It is a waste of my tax dollars.

I really hope the government reconsiders this decision. At least ask for the evidence you previously said you wanted from municipalities.

Sincerely,
A concerned citizen who has lived in multiple cities in Ontario and owns a car