I strongly oppose the…

I strongly oppose the proposal to decrease/remove bike lanes in the downtown core. Bike lanes don't cause traffic congestion; cars do - and there is plenty of research showing that the more car lanes and roads exist, the more cars there are using those roads. Creating more traffic lanes will simply just increase traffic.

As someone who lives in the downtown core of Toronto and who does own a car, I firmly believe that restructuring the city to favour car transportation is not sustainable. Encouraging the mass amounts of people who live in downtown Toronto to choose vehicular transportation over active transport such as cycling or walking, or public transportation, will inevitably lead to greater congestion.

Beyond just the concern of traffic on the streets, demolishing bike lanes also entirely goes against the ethical priority we should have as a community towards greener transportation, taking every step we can to address global warming. Furthermore, cycling and walking are features of healthy lifestyles, which all Ontarians should strive for - something that our overburdened healthcare system would greatly benefit from.

And none of this even begins to cover how great of a government overreach this action would be, as this is clearly a matter of municipal politics. As someone originally from Northeastern Ontario, I know of many, many other places that would benefit from the level of scrutiny Doug Ford has decided to focus on the few streets of Toronto surrounding Queen's Park.

I am disgusted by this proposal which clearly goes against the desires of those living in the areas it will affect. Do better!