I am horrified at this…

Commentaire

I am horrified at this suggestion to remove existing bike lanes and hamper the addition of new bike lanes in Toronto. I am a cyclist, pedestrian and driver, and the parent to a two-year-old child. I commute to work daily by bicycle, from the West End of Toronto to downtown. I regularly bike with my toddler in a child seat, to take her to medical appointments downtown and to daycare.

The addition of bike lanes on major routes which I already used as a cyclist (including Bloor, College and University) has made these much safer, for me and my child. Separated lanes reduce my risk of injury and death, from cars opening their doors on me or swerving into me in traffic.

When I drive, I also vastly prefer to drive along streets with separated bike lanes installed. They reduce my risk as a driver of coming close to and potentially injuring cyclists, who use major streets whether separated bike lanes are available or not. I actually find my progress quicker on streets with separated lanes, as I can move at the speed of car traffic rather than going slowly behind a bike until there is sufficient space to safely pass them (giving the one metre of space required by the Highway Traffic Act, s. 148(6.1).)

I can guarantee that removal of bike lanes will increase my use of a car over a bike, contributing to increased congesting rather than the opposite, particularly for trips I would have taken with my child in the relative safety of a protected bike lane.

This proposal is absolutely unjustifiable, given the obvious increased risks to life and limb it poses to vulnerable road users and the absence of evidence that it meets the stated policy goals of reducing traffic congestion. Spending provincial tax money to remove existing infrastructure, without any consultation, expert input or consideration of broader city planning is an unjustified use of funds and overreach into the municipal sphere. Moreover, in the context of our global climate crisis, promoting use of motor vehicles over transit and active transport contributes to the broader risks of our warming planet.