I am extremely concerned…

I am extremely concerned about the implications of this bill and am strongly opposed to its passing. As a student who doesn't own a car, bike lanes are hugely important to enabling me to get around and crucially, giving me options to get around. I have no plans to get a car, in part because the cost would be prohibitive, and prioritizing car infrastructure leaves those who prefer or crucially cannot afford to drive behind. Gridlock is a significant issue in Ontario, but the solution to it should be to give Ontarians more options to get around, not less. By making walking, cycling, and transit more viable options to get around (which the province is already doing in terms of transit), more people will try other options and gridlock will be relieved. By reducing the number of options people have to get around, gridlock will only worsen, and increased car traffic will have hugely negative impacts on the environment. Extensive research and international examples (such as Amsterdam) shows that bike infrastructure is a hugely beneficial way for residents to get around and to reduce car traffic.

By interfering in the planning of bike lanes, which have traditionally been municipal jurisdiction, introducing barriers to their installation, and potentially removing existing ones, the province is taking municipalities' ability to decide what's best for their jurisdiction away in this respect. When transport policies like bike lanes are involved, cities should be given some decisionmaking power over what's best for them, given that they are more knowledgeable about the unique issues in their jurisdiction. Interfering in bike lane planning only introduces more red tape that makes it harder for municipalities to implement their transit policies.

Additionally, the removal of existing bike lanes, especially those with permanent infrastructure, is a waste of the millions of dollars that were spent to install them, and the millions of dollars needed to remove them, just months after many were installed or upgraded. A City of Toronto report currently in the news estimates that removing just the lanes on Bloor, University, and Yonge, would cost nearly $50 million. That $50 million could easily be spent elsewhere, like initiatives to make cycling more practical or even measures to relieve car traffic with the infrastructure that's there now. Bike infrastructure is there for a reason and is not introduced without the careful planning of dozens, if not hundreds of city staff and planners. Using taxpayer money to undo much of that work is wasteful and sets a dangerous precedent for provincial interference in local issues. This doesn't even consider the dangers associated with a lack of bike infrastructure, and the fact that several cyclists have already died in accidents on Toronto roads in 2024 alone.

Overall, this proposal to limit municipalities' ability to plan their own bike infrastructure and remove existing infrastructure is wasteful, counterintuitive to its objective, and potentially deadly if bikes are not properly accommodated on our roads. I know I'm not alone in this opinion, and I strongly urge the province to reconsider this highly dangerous proposal.