Rather than discouraging…

Rather than discouraging bike lanes, the province should be encouraging cities to install them. Gridlock is caused by cars, and the solution to gridlock is to reduce the number of cars on the road. This can be done through a combination of improving public transportation and encouraging active transportation such as walking and biking. Public transportation and active transportation use the road much more efficiently than cars do, and if the province wants to reduce gridlock, it should be encouraging people to walk, bike, and take public transit as much as possible, rather than driving their cars. And it cannot encourage people to bike without providing the infrastructure for people to do so safely. Therefore, if the goal is to reduce gridlock, then the province should be providing incentives to municipalities installing bike lanes, rather than putting up barriers by asking them to justify their installation.