Please please please refer…

Please please please refer to the copious amounts of research that point to bike lanes helping EASE congestion! All around the world, world class cities like Paris, Montreal, Copenhagen, Tokyo

As a lifelong cyclist and downtown Toronto resident, I use the bike lanes on a daily basis. I don't feel safe riding on roads with no designated bike lanes. Cars and trucks driving downtown have become increasingly aggressive towards cyclists sharing the open roads with them. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the drivers are stuck in traffic. As a person who also drives occasionally, I would feel more at ease if cyclists had their own designated lane, for constant fear of hitting them. Knowing there are safe bike lanes to travel along, I will always opt to cycle over driving because as it stands, it's faster, free, more environmentally friendly and better for my health. As a cyclist I am more prone to stopping at local shops along my commutes, as finding parking is not a hassle. I know many people who do not cycle because of the treacherous roads and traffic that they'd have to endure, so instead, they are ordering Ubers and Lyfts, that are clogging up our streets. These young professionals are also choosing not to take transit, as the TTC has been deteriorating due to lack of funding. Transit times are horrendous, sometimes taking twice as long then biking or driving. Why not use the money that you would spend on ripping up perfectly good bike lanes, and putting in wider roads, that would only encourage more drivers to jam up the streets, and put it into funding improved transit systems?

The Bike Share program has been growing over the past few years, which indicates more folks are looking for car alternatives. Many folks who rent these bikes do not wear helmets, asking them to ride on the street alongside cars is a disaster waiting to happen. Please keep our citizens safe, as they try to make the right decisions.