To MTO, As a lifelong…

To MTO,

As a lifelong cyclist who uses bike lanes daily to commute from my home in west end Toronto to my office downtown, take my son to school, run errands, and to visit family members in Bloor West Village and Etobicoke, I am deeply concerned about this proposed provincial legislation that would limit building new bike lanes, and remove existing lanes in targeted Toronto locations.

This represents a massive overreach that would effectively limit the toolkit my municipal government has to address issues that are important to me like cleaner air, eliminating serious injuries and fatalities from traffic collisions, and even tackling gridlock and congestion woes.

Municipal governments have the local knowledge and contextual understanding necessary to effectively address specific community transportation needs. Any provincial legislation that would limit municipalities from serving their communities ultimately undermines local governance and the ability of municipalities to protect the well-being of their residents. All levels of government have a clear public health obligation to ensure roadways are safe for all users.

In researching this issue I came across Cycle Toronto’s website which points to a recent Ipsos poll commissioned by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, 86% of respondents agree that there is a traffic and congestion crisis in the region. But when asked about the causes of congestion, folks can plainly see what’s right in front of them: 68% say too much construction and mismanagement of construction schedules, and 57% say too many cars and trucks on the road. Only 21% say the main reason for traffic congestion is due to “other on-street uses (e.g. bike lanes, parking, CafeTO)”. To be clear, that’s not even 21% blaming just bike lanes. That number includes concerns about on-street parking and business-boosting initiatives like streetside patios and cafes. Even with bike lanes consistently and without evidence being scapegoated, the majority of folks refuse to take the bait.

I am also a car owner and I occasionally drive, and my observations align with the 68% of respondents who identify construction as a main cause for congestion in Toronto. Toronto has been undergoing a construction boom for years, and road work and condominium construction inevitably block our roadways and are much MUCH more disruptive to traffic flow than bike lanes.

Public safety should not be compromised for the sake of swaying voters in key ridings in west Toronto. Instead, we should use evidence-based solutions to keep people moving across the province, and not take away the democratic voices of my municipal leaders and my community.

Thank you,
LH
Toronto