I am strongly opposed to…

I am strongly opposed to multiple facets of this bill because they are based on partisan politics and not on evidence-based reasoning. The bill as written would go against against the best interests of Ontario residents/voters in terms of quality of life, traffic flow, safety, and fiscal responsibility.

This bill's promotion of the building of highway 413 ignores years of environmental studies at taxpayer expense that both indicated that its route will irreparably damage vulnerable habitat for our native species as well as encourage more people to use cars for transportation. The money would be better spent on improving public transit in the wider GTA, including GO train service.

The section of the bill advocating for the removal of bike lanes in Toronto also overrides the judgment of the municipalities about what is best for them and their voters. Toronto bike lanes came about after hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent studying the impacts of bike lanes on urban traffic flow and safety, and they were built because these studies indicated that bike lanes improve traffic flow, public safety, and money spent at local businesses along bike lane routes. It would be extremely counterproductive to override the positive impact that bike lanes are having by spending *even more* taxpayer dollars to rip them out. A responsible Ontario government would encourage cycling as a healthy and green means of transportation. It would work to reduce gridlock and support local businesses, as many municipalities around the world have already done, by encouraging the use of public transit and pedestrian/cycle traffic in intensified density urban cores, the economic drivers of our province.

As an Ontario voter and taxpayer who cycles and works to protect our green spaces and farmland, I urge you to stop pushing for highway 413 and the removal of bike lanes in Toronto and to focus instead on bolstering public transit and the integrity of our greenbelt. The long-term quality of life of Ontarians depends on it.

Sincerely,

A concerned Ontarian