As a resident of Toronto, I…

As a resident of Toronto, I do not support Bill 212.

First, it has been proven that bike lanes actually reduce gridlock and traffic in cities. As cited by CBC in their recent article, "Do bike lanes really cause more traffic congestion? Here's what science says,"
a European study demonstrated that more lanes for vehicle traffic actually induces further traffic and congestion while the installation of bike lanes drastically increases the number of individuals biking because bikers feel safer. Even if the traffic is increased somewhat, an Australian study found that in areas where traffic was increased it tended to be less than 10s/km, which in Toronto would be less than 7 minutes across the widest part of the city and only if bike lanes were actually slowing traffic along the whole route.

As someone who enjoys biking, but is not fully comfortable on a bike, I would never ride a bike on a street where there isn't a bike lane. Ripping out existing bike lanes will have a horrendous impact on traffic and the exhaust will further contribute to the impacts of climate change.

Second, it is NOT the role of the Province to dictate the design of streets in municipalities. Toronto's infrastructure design should be left up to the City to determine in consultation with its residents.

As someone who grew up in midtown Toronto and currently lives immediately off of Yonge Street and near Bloor Street, I have seen first hand the positive impact of bike lines. More people than ever are choosing to bike to work with the use of the bike share network skyrocketing. The bike lanes are so important for the safety of pedestrians, who used to have to contend with bikes illegally on the sidewalks, and for the safety of the bikers.

The Province should instead focus on completing its existing transit projects like the Eglinton LRT and the Ontario Line, which would actually help to ease traffic rather than creating legislation for the sole purpose of winning votes.

Finally, the statistics cited by Minister Sarkaria are misleading, as tens of thousands of Torontonians take bike trips each and every day (Toronto Bike Share alone had 5.7 million trips last year) and the statement that we have lost 50 percent does not mean we have had a 50 percent increase in traffic. Traffic issues in Toronto are due almost entirely to public transit not keeping pace with the growth in residents and due to endless construction constantly blocking lanes or closing roads. A well planned street with bike lanes and left turn lanes would allow for adequate traffic flow.

Please leave the decisions about our road and sidewalk infrastructure to the City. If the Province is intervening no matter what, please look at making them one-way on parallel streets rather than ripping them out all together (and creating even more construction and traffic). Anything you do will be a horrible waste of tax payer money.