I submit this comment as a…

I submit this comment as a resident of Toronto who lives along Bloor St West and gets around by walking, cycling, public transit, and driving. I'm incredibly disappointed to see this bill even be proposed. This is a serious overreach from the province and an absolute regression in city planning. It will go down in history as one of the most embarassing pieces of legislation from this government.

In urban areas, giving people choices to get around safely and efficiently using the mode best suited to them and their trip is paramount. It's unbelievable that the Minister of Transportation doesn't understand or recognize this. This isn't an opinion, it is a fact, proven over decades across cities around the world. There is no city on earth that has solved traffic congestion by making more space for cars and encouraging more people to drive. The government is choosing to ignore all available data and research to advance their personal agenda.

Safety and environmental benefits aside, bike lanes (and more importantly "complete streets" like Bloor St and Yonge St in Toronto) make the city a better place to live. These are STREETS. They are places for people, not for cars. They are places to live, work, eat, shop, play, and rest. I cannot tell you how much better it is to do all of these things along the street today as compared to a few years back before the complete street redesign. Toronto is building the kinds of places that North Americans traditionally long to travel to in old cities across the world. Quaint neighbourhoods with real street life that aren't just places "to drive through". Nothing is stopping us from having that here too, except this government.

Adding more legislative red tape for municipalities is not "common sense". Making it more dangerous and difficult for people to get around safely by walking or cycling is not "common sense". Adding more cars to a road to decrease congestion is not "common sense". If you are sitting in traffic, you are the traffic; there is no way around that. The government should focus on its failure to deliver on any major transit projects (which would ACTUALLY help address congestion) instead of trying to put more cars on the road. Premier Ford, you are not the mayor of Toronto and we've shown that we don't want you to be, so stop pretending that you are.