Bike lanes provide safe and…

Bike lanes provide safe and efficient pathways for cyclists to get around the city. Allowing the provincial government to hold jurisdiction over this does not make sense. We should be looking to make transportation options more flexible and efficient for those who need to get around the city. By nature, cars are much less efficient than busses, bikes, and streetcars when considering the amount of energy and physical space required to move a person from point A to point B. In a dense metropolitan area, such as the City of Toronto, efficiency of space is key. Encouraging efficient use of space is furthered, not hindered, by dedicated bike lanes, which both encourages bike lane use by providing safe options to travel without a vehicle, and does not encourage increased vehicle use. These decisions have the power to influence how communities make choices getting around the city. Providing a legitimate option between cycling and personal vehicles (by allowing adequate space for both as ways to get around the city) moves us in a direction of increased safety, efficiency, and personal freedoms. By increasing vehicle space at the cost of removing bike lanes, personal choices are effectively being removed as well.