There a few things I have…

There a few things I have issue with this bill. Mainly that it prioritizes people whose preferred mode of transport are cars, and not bikes. Why should someone who drives a car get preferential treatment over bikers who use their bike as their preferred mode and primary mode of transport around cities.

Cities should have the ability to improve the lives of their constituents without overstepping of the provincial government. City voters elect their local council with certain issues in mind, such as safe and fast bike transport. Adding this bill will create more bureaucracy to an already slow system.

Another are the stats about only 1.2% of people use bike for commuting in Toronto. That is misleading. In areas that there are more and developed bike lane infrastructure the number of people commuting and doing errands on bikes are higher. Imagine if we had the same network of safe bike infrastructure as we currently do with car infrastructure. That number would be much much higher. This can be seen around the world and even in Canada with cities such as Montreal.

Bike lanes are a great way to get individuals out of their car and onto smaller infrastructure. For every person who swaps their car for a bike, it means more space for the people who still need to drive, which reduces traffic.

In Ottawa I use my bike as a way to move around the city. There are times I wish there was a more direct safe bike route. Sometimes on what could be a 10km trip I will opt to do a 15km trip to avoid some streets to stay on some of the cities bike lanes instead. Even though I am an experienced cyclist I still prefer the calmness of Multi-use path ways and dedicated bike lanes compared to sharing a lane with cars.

Which brings me to another point. I think both cyclists and drivers would prefer cyclists to be in their own bike lane. Having cars move around you is nerve wracking and I have had close calls with aggressive drivers. Having bikes taking up part of a car lane also slows down traffic. It would be ideal to have a completely different infrastructure for mid speed movement such as bikes. We already separate cars from walking with sidewalks.

The argument about moving bike lanes off of main roads isn't of actual benefit to bikers. Main, straight corridors are great for bikes and cars to share. The reason why some of these streets are already busy with cars is because of the direct route. Why should we inhibit that same benefit from people commuting on bikes, or scooters?