This is horrible provincial…

This is horrible provincial over reach into municipalities. I should get to have a say in what kind of city I live in and how I get to work. Not only should the province not be interfering with city planning, The proposed Bill 212 is misleading. Study after study has shown that bike lanes do not cause gridlock, but rather more and more cars do. If the only option for people to get to work, or the grocery store or school (etc) is to drive then there will be more traffic and more gridlock. Being able to ride your bike instead, means that that is one less car on the road, making traffic move more smoothly for drivers. I know when I’m driving I appreciate seeing people take other modes of transportation. Furthermore, prioritizing car traffic could undermine efforts to create safer, more accessible infrastructure for cyclists and all vulnerable street users. Designing streets primarily for cars can lead more dangerous conditions due to poor design, which increases risks for everyone on the road. Adopting a Complete Streets approach—where infrastructure considers the safety and comfort of all users, including drivers—can make streets safer and reduce stress for everyone. Finally, if municipalities have to get Ministry approval for bike lanes, this could limit local decision-making power in other aspects in the future.