I am appalled at the…

I am appalled at the decision of the Ford government to propose Bill 212 which aims to remove bike lanes within the heart of downtown Toronto. The statistic announced by the Ford government that only 1.2% of people in Toronto commute by bicycle has been contested and fact-checked by many sources, including by the city's own collected data, and found to be a misrepresentation of cycling and the use of bike lanes within Toronto. Even from purely an economic standpoint, the cost to taxpayers to remove the bike lanes appears as if it would be at least $75 million in direct and sunk costs and I would argue that this money would be better spent on a plethora of other services. As well, the City has reported an increased ridership level of up to 600% in some of the bike lanes identified for removal and believes that the removal of the lanes will have a minimal effect on car travel times or traffic congestion. The position that more car lanes will decrease traffic congestion or commute time has been disproven time and time again by urban studies and to see this argument used as the foundation of this bill is concerning and confidence-shaking. Looking at the bigger picture in consideration of climate change and the role of the Ontario government in mitigating emissions as well as building "greener" infrastructure, the proposal to remove bike lanes and prioritize car vehicle transportation is short-sighted and a disservice to our shared environment as well as future generations. I hope that the bill is reconsidered and revoked.