I think that it is…

I think that it is ridiculous what the province is doing. Bike lanes save lives. Bike lanes help to ease congestion. Bike lanes move more people per hour then car lanes. Bike lanes have in no way increased traffic times. This is ridiculous. The province has no business removing bike lanes. Bicycling is a great source of exercise, It is democratic. It allows for people of all incomes to access their community and be part of it, not just people in cars. The province does not step in and take away on street parking under the guise of congestion. The move to remove bike lanes is solely ideological and in no way based in any rational underpinnings. The argument that bike lanes are bad for businesses is ridiculous and is in no way true. Bike travel is very localized extremely beneficial to small business as street facing small business benefit from cyclist moving at a slower pace allowing them to take in their business frontage. Compared to when you are driving a car and it does not allow you to sight see as you are having to maintain greater attention to your surroundings and it does not allow you to window shop as you operate the vehicle. Bike lanes are important in giving young agency in their community. It allows them to explore and perhaps get a part time job or meet up with friends, giving them the opportunity to feel as though they are citizens and not just chattel of their parents. Baring the building of bike lanes on streets in the future is very short sited and non flexible to changing lifestyles and work habits. Bike lanes do no cause traffic. I drive to work in Vaughan everyday. There is a death trap of a bike lane along highway 7 running unprotected and running along the street. There is 3 lanes of traffic in each direction the bike lane is tucked onto the side. It is an extremely dangerous bike lane that I seldom see anyone using as there are tractor trailers and suv's doing 70-80kmh. The traffic is terrible on highway 7 I can assure you that it is not the bike lane that is causing it.