Regarding the Addendum…

Regarding the Addendum posted on October 31 2024 stating that

"The Ontario government is proposing an addendum to the framework that would require the province to remove sections of the Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue bike lanes in the City of Toronto and return them to a lane of traffic for motor vehicles."

The proposal contained in this addendum is not supported by any hard data or evidence that has been posted in the public domain by the Government of Ontario. I have driven down Bloor and Yonge Streets before and after the bike lane implementation and have experienced no noticeable impact on driving times following the introduction of bike lanes. It is noteworthy that the Government of Ontario has not released any of the data they purport to have to show a detrimental impact of bike lanes. In the absence of these data this Addendum suggests unilateral Provincial overreach rather than a data based decision.

In fact, this addendum flies in the face of evidence collected by the City of Toronto as well as the Bloor Street BIA who warn that "removal of bike lanes would be disastrous" to the surrounding community. If anything installation of the bike lanes have made driving easier due to the lower speed and generally more consistent flow of traffic on both Bloor and Yonge rather than having to deal with traffic merging in both directions.

I fully support the Mayor of Toronto's stance against this unilateral, short-sighted and car-centric removal of bike lanes on these streets and am wholly against Bill 212 and its associated Addendum.