I'm a resident of west-end…

I'm a resident of west-end Toronto. My transportation patterns have changed significantly since the introduction of bike lanes along Bloor. Instead of driving to a supermarket, I now bike along Bloor and pick up groceries from Snapper's Fish Market, Bloor Meat Market, Carload fruit and vegetable store, Meaty Eats deli, and other local businesses. I do this three to four times a week. When I'm meeting someone downtown, I bike from Jane and Bloor. It takes me 20 to 30 minutes, almost as fast as the subway and far faster than driving.

I'm also a car driver. I have to take my kids to soccer practices and games all over the city four or five times a week. I don't like traffic jams either. But the traffic patterns on Bloor are only marginally different than they were before the introduction of bike lanes. Other roads with no bike lanes have gotten busier too -- the perennial congestion on the 401 and the Gardiner have nothing whatsoever to do with bike lanes. Tearing out millions of dollars of newly installed bike lanes isn't going to make a significant difference to anyone's ability to drive around the city without encountering traffic.

I understand that people have different perspectives on the benefits of bike lanes. If the majority of people in Toronto didn't want bike lanes, I would have to accept that verdict. But that's not what happened. In the last election, anti-bike-lane candidates like Mark Saunders got less than ten percent of the vote. The people who live here - the majority of them, at least - want bike lanes.

How is it fair or reasonable for the province to arbitrarily force the city to remove these lanes? If the province had tried to force the city to build bike lanes when Doug Ford's brother was mayor, he would have been furious! I hope the premier will reconsider this poorly studied and arbitrary measure.