I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to the…

I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to the changes proposed by Bill 212 regarding cycling infrastructure as they reinforce the idea that car is king within Ontario. The idea that the province can overrule municipal planning decisions is absurd and SHOULD NOT be passed. Cities around the world have found that creating safe and dedicated cycling infrastructure attracts more people to use active transportation. They are also encouraged to find alternative means of transport such as ride-sharing, public transit, cycling and walking. The space one car, with one driver, takes up on the road could be replaced by at least 4 people on bicycles providing local businesses along routes 3x more potential customers compared to a gridlocked vehicle throughfare with 1 more lane.
Providing Ontarians with a choice in transportation options would reduce the number of vehicles on the road and reduce traffic for those, for ex persons with physical disabilities, who absolutely need to use a personal car for transportation. Reduced traffic would also reduce the noise in local residential and business districts, providing a more friendly walking environment. Personally I would like to cycle more often, however, the lack of separate/dedicated cycling infrastructure makes cycling a higher risk and more inconvenient than driving, even for short distances or where multi-modal options exist.
One critique of cycling lanes I often hear is that, by taking a lane away from vehicle traffic, it creates gridlock and hinders emergency vehicles from making their way through car traffic. This is easily rectified by creating wider cycling infrastructure to accommodate emergency vehicles! The Netherlands & France already does this. You see quick and efficient response times from their Emergency Services. Bikes are more easily maneuverable, making them quick to move out of the way of emergency vehicles and they can leave the bike lanes if necessary. A network of wide dedicated bike lanes across cities like Toronto and Ottawa would allow emergency vehicles to quickly bypass traffic and decrease response times drastically!
I truly hope you take this feedback and those of many Ontarians to rework the changes in approval for planning and changing cycling infrastructure.