The government's plan to…

The government's plan to remove bicycle lanes is appallingly stupid.

1. The City of Toronto's new lanes don't significantly impact traffic according to research to date.

2. If the government has any actual evidence to the contrary, show us this evidence, rather than just ramming through legislation without debate.

3.The lanes provide a SAFE means of travel for people who don't have cars. Without lanes, people die.

4. Toronto already had gridlock before the cycling lanes went in. And even if the cycling lanes are removed, it will still have gridlock.

5. Even if the government actually believes removing the cycling lanes will help ease our traffic crisis (but see#1 and #4 above), the measure would still be pointless. Short- short-term. Any gain would be temporary, because the traffic is getting worse and worse every year anyway. Two years, three years, five years, how long until Toronto becomes unlivable, given the way we're going. And what will that do for business and the economy, the only interest group this government seems to care about?

6. We need real, meaningful, long-term solutions to our traffic gridlock. Measure that will get people OUT OF THEIR CARS as much as possible. THis requires:
-- MORE public transit, including the light rail transit the Ford dynasty so foolishly killed off

-- MORE bike and ebike lanes for Toronto residents who don't drive. Creating a large network of cycling lanes is one important long-term strategy in drawing large numbers of Toronto residents away permanently from car use. If Europeans can do it, so can we.

-- STICKS as well as carrots to get people out of their cars, such as a $$ levy on drivers who drive downtown, as they have in London. It's working there. Follow the experts advice.

7.This provincial government is dictating to the cities what they should NOT do to solve the traffic crisis. Yet it does not seem to have any proposals or plans about what cities SHOULD do to solve the crisis. Having ignored the crisis so far, is the provincial government now planning to own the problem and provide solutions? We look forward to hearing the Premier's plans.

8.This government is overreaching its authority on this issue. Certainly, municipalities are creatures of the Provincial government, which is why this government has been able to bully Ontario cities on the cycling as on other issues. But Doug Ford was NOT elected mayor of Toronto or any other Ontario city. Olivia Chow WAS elected as Toronto's mayor, and among other policies she was elected to create new cycling lanes. She is now executing the mandate she received from its residents. Let her do her job.

7. If the government was concerned about the cycling lanes, it should have acted before they were installed. Instead, now, removing the lanes is going to be very expensive. THis government will be wasting provincial or municipal taxpayers' dollars, once again, on foolish un-thought-out policies.

8. Following on from #7, the government's actions smack of electioneering: suddenly cycling lanes becomes another issue to play for suburban votes.

Leave those cycling lanes. Build more.