The bike lanes in Toronto…

The bike lanes in Toronto serve an important purpose in helping to manage traffic. Without them, cyclists are forced to weave between vehicles and squeeze past illegally stopped trucks, causing additional points of conflict and slowing traffic. This trait is well observed on Yonge Street near Dundas Street.

Additionally, the introduction of bike lanes typically comes with dedicated parking spots (ex. College Street, the planned lanes for Eglinton Avenue). These dedicated spots mean vehicles don't have to constantly merge back into the left lane as vehicles are intermittently parked by the curb, keeping traffic flowing more smoothly overall. The "second lane" becomes mostly useless when vehicles are forced to merge back and forth, or simply stick to the left lane and don't use the capacity of the road.

Removing bike lanes, and restricting their removal, is a short-sighted move that will not improve traffic throughput, will significantly increase the danger to cyclists and drivers alike, and will be a waste of public funds already dedicated to reducing emissions.