I strongly object to Bill…

I strongly object to Bill 212.

Please do not spend a single penny of my family's tax dollars removing bike lanes in Toronto or any other municipality. Nor should the Province create additional red tape for building bike lanes. Municipalities are best positioned to assess the transportation needs of their communities and the availability of resources and infrastructure to deliver effective and safe transportation solutions. Its embarrassing enough that this bill has even been tabled, do not embarrass Ontario on the global stage any more by passing it as-is.

Removing bike lanes and preventing future bike lanes will do tremendous harm to increasing housing supply and improving housing affordability. Many developers rely on public bicycle infrastructure to justify reducing expensive car parking and instead providing bicycle storage. Without the bicycling infrastructure they will have to provide parking, which can cost $100,000 per space which is the cost of the buyer.

I am a driver and car owner, a pedestrian, a transit rider and a bicyclist. My options for getting to work are driving, biking or walking. And I exercise all of them based on my needs each day. When I bike, I use a bike lane (I do not work or live in Toronto). When I drive, I appreciate that cyclists have a bike lane separated from me. Bike lanes help beautify communities and make roads safer. They force drivers to drive slower and safer while still reaching their destinations in the same amount of time. Roads with bike lanes are some of the most beautiful.

These elements should be removed from Bill 212. And the Province should support municipalities in providing the type of bicycle infrastructure it does want to see, not ripping out existing infrastructure. It should also focus on expanding regional transit options, which is the role and responsibility of the Provincial government.