I am a cyclist. Like many…

I am a cyclist. Like many people living in Toronto, I do not have a car. I cannot afford a car but I prefer to get around the city by bike, or TTC when biking isn't practical. I find it the quickest, healthiest, least expensive and less polluting way to get around. I realize I am risking my life by riding my bike. And I know many people who won't ride a bike because they don't feel safe. One of the greatest problems we face right now is the climate crisis that we are now entering, and is becoming increasingly obvious by the many extreme weather events that are damaging so many cities and regions - Jasper, North Carolina, Valencia, etc - it is a priority to do everything we can to try to slow this. This will also happen to Toronto, as it already has to some degree this past suffer, with floods. We need to create more infrastructure to encourage people to stop using carbon emitting cars and to use other modes of transportation. There have been so many cyclists injured or killed in Toronto - cyclists who are doing the right thing by riding their bikes, must be protected! It is the only reasonable response to this problem, as well as the problem of gridlock. We need better bike lanes and a better public transit system. Any government that does not move in that direction, but encourages more car use is completely irresponsible and does not care for citizens in its jurisdiction. We need more, not fewer bike lanes!