I am a car driver, a…

I am a car driver, a bicyclist, a husband and a father of three children. It upsets me that bicycle lanes have become a political wedge issue in this province when the focus should be about the right for people to be able to choose a mode of transportation and get to where they want to go safely.

As a health care worker working in one of the hospitals on University Avenue in Toronto, biking to and from work using the Danforth, Bloor Street, and University Avenue bike lanes has been essential for me.

I used to take the TTC, but due to consistently poor service (ie overcrowding of trains, frequent delays due to various medical emergencies) it was not a dependable mode of transportation.

Driving to work was not an option either as parking expenses and gasoline costs significantly cut into our family budget.

Biking has not only been an effective way to help me and my family live within our means, it has also improved my physical and mental health, both of which were severely tested as I helped to treat patients during the Covid pandemic.

It has been a joy for me to see my wife and children bike safely along Danforth Avenue and observe how the bike lanes have increased foot traffic at local businesses and livened up the neighbourhood in which we live.

Removing bike lanes for more car lanes is not a long-term solution to relieving traffic congestion. More car lanes will only result in induced demand (ie more cars on the road) and endanger the lives of people like me who will be forced to share the road with faster, heavier moving vehicles. Continuing to build bicycle infrastructure in this city and expanding public transit are the only long-term solutions to the congestion issue we currently face.

It is for these reasons that I urge you to reconsider Bill 212.