I live in Toronto and mostly…

I live in Toronto and mostly drive, but also like to get around the city by bike. My kids also like biking, and thanks to the new bike lanes they can safely get around.

Main streets in the old city of Toronto were already effectively 1 lane in each direction. Even though Bloor or Yonge used to have 2 lanes each way, one lane was always blocked by someone parking, stopping or turning. The bike lanes actually made driving easier, I no longer had to guess if someone was making a left turn since it allowed the city to have dedicated turning lanes at intersections.

After the bike lanes were installed, I also didn't have to worry about a car suddenly parking in the right lane, since there was only one lane and everyone drives. The only spot to park is the new designated parking spots. Anyone who spends time downtown knows the main streets in old Toronto are a little different than the suburbs, the right lane is always blocked by parking (Iegaly or illegally) and before bike lanes there wasn't a designated left turn lane. Anyone could stop traffic by turning left. Traffic flow seemed to improve and be more predictable after the bike lane installation.

Also, when I need to be at a meeting on time, biking is the only reliable way to get on time. You never know what traffic is going to be like by car with all the construction. Public transit is unreliable. Destroying the bike lanes on Yonge, Bloor or University isn't going to fix that, those lanes were already just parking/stopping lanes. Yonge and Bloor were already effectively one lane streets before the bike lane installation.