I am perplexed at the way in…

I am perplexed at the way in which this proposal distinguishes between "bike lanes" and "traffic lanes." Are bicycles not traffic? Do cyclists not have places to get to on time? Of all the ways we can get around a city, why are motorised vehicles the only ones designated as "traffic" in this proposal?

As the Ontario government envisions a future where our cities' streets are less congested, I ask them to envision a future in which cars are not the primary method of transportation. It is very clear that we cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels because of climate change. While electric cars are arguably less harmful than gas-powered cars, they still rely on mining critical minerals which has enormously negative impacts on ecologies and communities, especially indigenous communities. I am a 23-year-old university student and I ask that we collectively imagine and build a future beyond car dependency. This is not only crucial for addressing climate change -- bikeable and walkable cities are also healthier, better for business, happier and more just.

Gridlock is not caused by bike lanes. It is caused by too many cars on the roads. The solution cannot be more space for cars. This simply invites more cars and then 10 years from now we'll be in the same gridlock. We need to build streets and cities that offer safe and convenient choices that include walking, cycling and public transit, so that people can choose alternatives to driving their car. Bike lanes are just one way we can make our streets safer and more enjoyable for cyclists, and thus encourage more people to bike instead of drive. Gridlock is not caused by bike lanes. We need more bike lanes, not fewer. Bike lanes are traffic lanes than can move way more people per square metre compared to car lanes. Bike lanes and other non-car transportation infrastructure will ease gridlock, not more space for cars.

The Ontario government must not remove bike lanes in Toronto or anywhere else. If anything, the provincial government should be encouraging more bike lanes. The provincial government must not require municipalities to get provincial authorization for new bike lanes as this will make their implementation slower. Allow the people who know their roads and neighbourhoods best to decide how to build their roads. Leave it to the municipalities.

The language in this proposal is blatantly placing the car on a higher level of importance than other forms of transportation. It is written, "Ontario is looking to fight gridlock and get drivers where they need to go faster," without acknowledging that this means cyclists will get to where they are going slower and less safely. We must recognise that owning and driving a car is not universal. There are so many reasons why people don't drive -- they are young, they cannot afford to have a car, they have a disability, etc -- and this is why our streets need to provide multiple convenient transportation options to choose from. By legislating cars as the only important form of traffic (as this proposal does), the Ontario government is reinforcing existing inequalities.

I grew up in Peterborough Ontario and relied on bike lanes and multi-use paths to get to school and around town. Last fall I lived in New York City and relied on my bike to get everywhere. The streets with bike lanes made me feel way safer and helped me travel way faster. Streets with bike lanes move everyone faster -- even car drivers, because fewer people need to drive is there are convenient alternatives.

I was hit by a car once on my way to school in high school and then recently I was run over by a pickup truck while biking to work and was lucky to survive. Our streetscapes can be really dangerous for cyclists, which keeps people from choosing to bike and keeps them dependent on a car, causing gridlock. The answer is not to remove cycling infrastructure. The way forward is to dream bigger than car dependent cities. We can make our cities way more accessible, safer, more convenient and way more awesome to live in if we prioritise people, not cars.