Having bike lanes in Toronto…

Having bike lanes in Toronto has helped me end my journey of youth homelessness!

Having bike lanes across the city has allowed me to commute efficiently to work and save enough money for my first and last months rent of a subsidized apartment, and end my journey of youth homelessness at 19 this week (Nov. 18th /24) after aging out of foster care. Outside of work it has allowed me to visit my family members and do my errands with peace of mind knowing i'll be safer not being next to vehicular traffic going twice as fast as me.

Please do not block the building of bike lanes and remove any current ones. The cost of doing so isn't just the cheque you'll write to the builders, contractors, and administrators that will be destroying the progress that was made, but also people like me who not requiring a car for daily transport allowed me to create value to this city in a way that is getting me out of poverty.

I love cars, and I am working on my drivers license to be on the road soon, but i also recognize the value of diversified methods of transportation beyond cars like trains, busses, light rail/streetcar trams, and road infrastructure that allows many methods of transport including bicycles, walking, and smaller vehicles like mopeds and motorcycles.

The sacrifices we pay now with more vehicle traffic will pay off we just have to be patient. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes we made in the past like the attempt of building the Spadina expressway, and now today building more roads and destroying progress that creates the continual reliance on cars. The solution is somewhere in the middle of the extremes. Please consider more options and for example; adding reserved bus lanes that go out to parking in the GTA bringing more people downtown that do not need to rely on cars anymore. This is cost effective as it does not need a huge change in infrastructure that needs to be build and can be approved very quickly on the side of Governmental costs. This is one example but there are many many more to keep exploring.

Much love to all the parties and people who work at all government levels keeping this city drowning in dept afloat! ❤️❤️