I would like to affirm my…

I would like to affirm my strong opposition to this proposal. If passed, this will make building proper cycling infrastructure significantly more difficult and even forcibly rip out existing bike lanes which tens of thousands of people actively depend on. Despite this government claiming to be “for the taxpayers”, they are going spend millions on destroying infrastructure which was approved in an extensive consultation process. It is extremely wasteful and insulting to see the tax money of Ontarians be used to forcibly destroy public infrastructure for no good reason.

Previously, this government said that it would respect the decisions made by local councils in regards to urban planning, particularly by not legalizing fourplexes province-wide. However, it seems that this government has forgotten that and they will instead be making decisions for local councils.

Furthermore, commuting by bike has proven to be beneficial for one’s fitness, sustainable for the environment and financially responsible. Cycling can also reduce gridlock for others as every person who chooses to bike is one less car on the road, and you don’t need to spend billions on a tunnel underneath the 401 to do that. There are tens of thousands of people who want to cycle and will get out of their car to do it as their regular commute, but only if safe infrastructure is built to allow it. I’m not saying that people should be forced out of their car and onto a bike, but rather that safe infrastructure should be available to those who would like to cycle, and that this government not impede the construction of such.

As for the government’s claims of increased travel times and damage to small businesses, studies have shown that bike lane infrastructure does not significantly worsen car gridlock, and the Chief of Toronto Fire Services has confirmed that bike lanes do not negatively impact the response time of emergency services. Further, the Bloor Annex BIA has released a statement opposed to the removal of the bike lanes in their area, stating that they have been beneficial their businesses. Surely a government which constantly claims to support local small businesses would not put said businesses’ bottom lines at risk by destroying infrastructure which helps drive customers.

Again, I would like to reiterate that I have appreciated this government’s improvements to public transit infrastructure, but this type of bone-headed policy making is extremely concerning and makes me doubt my confidence in this government. Therefore, I strongly urge that ERO 019-9266 and Section 4 of Schedule 4 of Bill 212 be dropped immediately.