Cycle commuting and cycle…

Cycle commuting and cycle transportation in cities brings significant community. health, economic and environmental benefits. Countless studies demonstrate that dedicated cycling lanes facilitate stronger local businesses in neighbourhoods and also are a beneficial complement to densification of housing and so an important part of responding Ontario's current housing challenges. The argument made by the Provincial Government that cycling lanes contribute to road congestion is not supported by science and the intervention of the Provincial Government in municipal decision-making is contrary to decades of proven jurisdictional practice in the province.

Of even more importance, dedicated bike lanes have been demonstrated in cities around the world and across Canada to improve safety not just for cyclists but also for motorists. Dedicated cycle lanes calm traffic while also providing a protected space for cyclists to commute in safety. Removing cycling lanes will force cyclists on busy arteries to ride with cars in traffic, which will reduce safety, slow the movement of vehicles, increase accidents, and by consequence lead to greater traffic challenges. The tragic human risks of fatal accidents that can arise from removing bike lanes should be sufficient for a responsible Provincial Government to rethink its position. However, given that the Provincial Government has predicated its position on the incorrect assumption that bike lanes cause congestion, when integrating bicycles into vehicle traffic has a far greater impact on unpredictable vehicle movement and traffic delays due to interactions between slower bicycles and faster vehicles.

The Provincial Government has made clear its commitment to responding to Canada's affordability crisis. I have been a cycle commuter for over a decade largely due to its affordability versus other forms of transportation. The policy being advocated by the Provincial Government will remove the most affordable method of urban commuting available to residents of Ontario cities at a time when affordability is the most pervasive challenge facing Ontarians.

Cycle commuting is not only more affordable and more healthy, it is more efficient. The average single lane of private motor-vehicle traffic has a capacity of between 600 and 900 vehicles per hour, representing between 600 and 1,800 people. By contrast, the average two-way protected bike lane (which typically occupies less space than a single lane of traffic), has a capacity of 7,500 people per hour. Bike lanes appear empty because they are dramatically more efficient in moving people than car lanes. They can be up to 10 times more efficient for supporting commuters in a thriving downtown than car lanes.

I am one of thousands of cycle commuters in my city who could be negatively impacted by this legislation and I am stridently opposed to it. It is short-sighted and is an example of Provincial Government overreach out of its traditional areas of authority. Commuting is a local issue best managed by local governments. Thanks to investments made by my city in separated bike lanes over the past two years, I enjoy for the first time in over a decade a safe commute to my workplace. Cyclists will continue to commute by bicycle with or without dedicated bike lanes. Their removal will increase congestion and risk. Every injury and death of a cyclist caused by the risks created by removal of a bike lane by this Provincial Government's legislation will be the direct consequence of this error in law and policy made without the benefit of forethought or scientific analysis. Each injury and each death caused by this reduction in safe commuting will arguably be the direct responsibility of the Premier and his government.