I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my opposition to Bill 212. I am disappointed to learn that the provincial government is overreaching its typical bounds and proposing changes to municipal roads, specifically as it relates to removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street.

The rationale provided is to “reduce gridlock and help small businesses”.

Reduce Gridlock - Although there is a nominal increase to motor vehicle travel times due to these bike lanes, there is an improvement to overall mobility by ALL users of the road. Cyclists and pedestrians are taxpayers and voters too.

Help Small Businesses - Small businesses will actually be hurt by this decision to remove bike lanes. Since the opening of the Bloor bike lanes in 2016, the Annex BIA has reported that both the number of customers and their spending has increased, and they also oppose removal of these bike lanes.

The removal of the bike lanes proposed as part of Bill 212 will put cyclists at risk. The November 13 report issued by the City of Toronto identifies that there are reduced incidents of cycling injury due to separated bikeways.

The costs associated with removal of bike lanes are estimated at $47 million. As a tax payer, I oppose this unnecessary spending, which could be better directed towards healthcare and education across our province.

I would suggest that the Ministry of Transportation focus its efforts on completing regional transit projects in Toronto that are severely over budget and behind schedule, which will have greater impact on reducing gridlock on our roads than removal of these 3 bike lanes.