This is a terrible law and…

This is a terrible law and it is an illogical law when we are facing a climate crisis and need to reduce carbon emissions immediately. Encouraging cycling and discouraging individual motor vehicles makes sense rather than removing cycling lanes to make room for more cars!

With regard to the Bloor, Yonge and University lanes, those are some of the most convenient ways to move about Toronto. My daughter who lives in the Junction uses the Bloor bike lane almost every day to get to the U of T campus where she is a doctoral student. Students don't have a lot of extra money to spend on transportation such as cars and transit passes. This allows them to get exercise as well as a cheap and convenient way to move around the city. Cycling is also convenient to get exactly where you are going and makes use of the bike share network for those who don't own bikes.

Dedicated cycling lanes keep cyclists safe and allow cyclists to move with creating carbon emissions, the cause of global warming. The magic number is 1.5 C! If the planet warms above this, there is no going back. This is science! Encouraging more cycling, not less, should be happening at all levels of government. Taking away cycling lanes to allow for more cars just creates more emissions and more traffic. Some of those cyclists who won't feel safe anymore cycling without dedicated lanes will be using cars. There is no getting around the fact that more cars equals more traffic...not less! It creates induced demand.

Additionally, cycling is good exercise. Many people are busy and don't have time to exercise each day. By riding to school, work or on errands, the exercise takes place automatically. Sadly, the province doesn't have enough doctors so keeping the citizens of Ontario physically and mentally healthy is important and exercise is one way to do this.

I live in Ottawa and one of the reasons I moved into the city was so that I could walk and cycle rather than drive a car. I am very worried about the future of the planet and what will happen if we go over that tipping point of 1.5. I am conscious of my actions every day and how they might contribute to climate change. Because of bike lanes, especially the one on Percy St., O'Connor St. and Laurier Avenue, I am able to move safely in my city. Even though it is cold here in the winter, many cyclists use those bike lanes year round.

I also volunteer with Ecology Ottawa and the acting director has summarized the reasons we need bike lanes on the Ecology Ottawa website which I have included as well as a CBC article which references studies which show the benefits of bike lanes with regard to reducing traffic.

In conclusion, our premier, Doug Ford, in 2017, was quoted as saying that bike lanes make cyclists feel safer. We need to keep our cycling lanes to allow Ontarians to move about their cities safely and to reduce car traffic and carbon emissions.