The provincial government’s…

The provincial government’s intervention in city infrastructure decisions, like bike lanes, is a clear overreach that undermines the very purpose of municipal governance. We elect city councils to represent our specific needs, and they are best positioned to make these decisions. Imposing costly mandates from the provincial level wastes taxpayer money and disregards local communities' priorities. Spending $48 million to remove established bike lanes—without even accounting for the cost of installing them elsewhere—is an irresponsible use of public funds and dismisses the growing need for sustainable, accessible transportation options.

Bike share Toronto usage has grown exponentially and the availability of safe, separated bike lanes is a major factor in that. The removal of bike lanes is not going to stop people from biking, especially at a time when cost of living is extremely high.

If the goal is genuinely to alleviate congestion, there are far more effective, cost-efficient ways to do it: improving public transit by investing in dedicated bus lanes and bus rapid transit, for instance, would provide immediate, broad-reaching benefits. Let the people who actually live in these cities decide how they want to grow. Provincial leaders should focus on enabling municipalities to address their unique transportation needs—not dictating costly, disruptive changes that ignore the community’s voice.