Hello! Appreciate the…

Hello!

Appreciate the consultation period to communicate the bill and solicit feedback. As an avid cyclist, I use my bike regularly to travel through the city of Toronto to get to work and run errands. I have alternatives to this with easy access to the TTC by living on a street car line and a car for doing distant trips that are inconvenient through other means. Cycling is the superior method of travelling the city by providing able bodied people a healthy and independent method of transportation. Additionally, through cycling, I am relieving public transit and city roads of congestion. There is evidence that bike lanes have a positive effect to reducing congestion through major cities, through many reputed sources online and public authorities that have been referred to and posted since this policy entered the public eye. This is in addition to providing safer roads for all users and alleviating the environmental impact of cars and maintenance costs on roads throughout the city.

Have we considered other alternatives to reduce congestion in the city? To build a strong and transparent policy that benefits all people in Ontario, we should cost out the each alternative as well and evaluate the financial, human, and environmental cost for improving congestion problems.

Here are some alternatives that must be considered before bike lanes are removed:

- removing street parking on major roads
- congestion tax for cars/trucks in the city
- increasing fines and enforcement for illegal parking and dangerous driving in the city that adds to congestion
- improving public transit
- adding a levy to parking in the city to fund public transit or a “congestion reduction” fund
- increasing access to public transit by adding parking spaces to major terminal stations on the TTC and GO networks
- incentivizing work from home that alleviates congestion during rush hour in the city

Thank you for your consideration
- concerned cyclist