Please find below my…

Please find below my comments and concerns with regards to this bill:

1) Safety concern - The proposal to remove the bike lanes on Bloor St., Yonge St., and University Ave would result in putting more cyclists in danger as they commute to and from work each day. Personally, I use the bike lane on Yonge St and my husband uses the bike lanes on all three streets, and the only reason I am able to bike to work on such a busy street is because a bike lane was installed. I see many cyclists use the bike lane on Yonge St everyday, and removing the bike lane would put many cyclists lives in danger. I do not want to be a dead body on Yonge St because I was driving on a shared lane with a car. I do not want to one day find out that my husband has been hospitalized because of a car accident on Bloor St.

2) Environmental concern - As we deal with worsening climate change issues, the province should be focusing on promoting more environmentally-friendly methods of transportation instead of proposing to remove what Toronto has already put in place to encourage alternative methods of transportation. Removing bike lanes on Bloor St., Yonge St., and University Ave would probably push some people to drive as they would no longer feel safe commuting with their bikes. This is not the direction that we, as a province, should be moving toward.

3) Efficiency concern - I am wary of the inefficiencies that would arise should municipalities be required to seek provincial approval for the implementation of new bike lanes. This step will significantly delay the approval of implementing new bike lanes. I am worried about the inefficient use of taxpayer dollars as proposals get stuck in the bureaucratic back and forth between municipalities and the province because municipalities lost the power to implement new bike lanes on their own.

I urge the province to consider my three points and reconsider the proposals in this bill. The focus on more car lanes is narrow-minded, shortsighted, and frankly, downright irresponsible.