I'm a grad student at U of T…

I'm a grad student at U of T and I bike every single day (weather permitting). My commute includes Bloor and University. Bike lanes are essential for me. I know many others that bike and not just students, other employees at SickKids where I work. If the argument is there aren't enough bikers using the lanes... One, I would heavily disagree based on the traffic I see daily. Two, this number is only going to grow as the bike lane network grows and connects more areas (Toronto's bike network is still in its infancy). And three, you don't have to take my word for it, the city can look at the number of rides taken in its bike share program yearly and see this number has been growing and will continue to grow as the bike network expands (https://schoolofcities.github.io/bike-share-toronto/growth).

I think this bill is a huge step backwards for the city's transit. I think it's extremely short-sighted to take steps to eliminate biking infrastructure and put red tape on it in the hopes of improving car traffic. This will only take people off bikes and put either more cars on the road or more people on the subway, adding to their existing congestion. As our bike infrastructure improves it will only serve to relieve more and more strain on the other commuting options. The width gain on roads for cars does not outweigh an entire commuting option.

When I arrived in Toronto I was very impressed by the existence of good bike lanes in the inner city and the ongoing construction of new lanes. It made me proud to be Canadian that Canada's biggest city was taking steps towards a more European style, commuter friendly city. I really hope that the people considering enacting this bill think about its long term consequences that won't just hurt bikers but drivers too.