As a resident of Toronto who…

As a resident of Toronto who regularly commutes using the Bloor, University, and Yonge St bike lanes, I strongly oppose this legislation. Using a provincial bill to mandate the removal of municipal bike lanes is gross overreach. Furthermore, the province has provided absolutely no data to support the removal of these bike lanes. Studies around the world have shown that bike lanes reduce congestion by offering a safe alternative to driving. If the province removes these bike lanes, the people using the lanes won't simply disappear. Cyclists will take the lane instead, which slows down traffic even further. As well, some may choose to drive instead, further adding to congestion. These bike lanes are perfectly functioning infrastructure that the province wants to remove without producing a shred of evidence that such a move will improve anything.

I also strongly disagree with the section of the bill that would require municipalities to receive approval from the Minister of Transportation to build new bike lanes. It is hypocritical to make municipalities meet obscure criteria to build new bike lanes while mandating the removal of Toronto bike lanes without any evidence. This bill would introduce unnecessary red tape and provincial interference into a process that should be kept at the municipal level. The reality is, continuing to build car centric infrastructure will set us back hundreds of years in terms of urban development. There is simply no way that Toronto will be able to handle a growing population by continuing to only subsidize car centric development.