Hello, I am writing as a…

Hello,

I am writing as a Toronto resident of over 10 years, who uses bicycle lanes regularly. When I first moved here from Ottawa without means of owning a car these bike lanes were my main method of getting to work and back. While back then these infrastructures were in their infancy, they provided me with patches of safety on roads where I would otherwise be at mercy of the drivers.

The major issue with bill is that it uses outdated statistics from 2011 based on a question with the very limited scope of whether someone uses bicycle as a primary mode of commuting. In reality many people bike to do many other things, like spending time with friends and family, attend events, going shopping, etc. Its implication of removing bike lanes in major streets in the city has complete disregard that many of these places are the destinations, and removing means of getting there means people will need to resort to other modes of transportation.

When I tell people that I cycle to work, the reaction I get is that of shock, disbelief, and concern. Premier himself have experienced unsafe roads that cyclist must navigate in areas without cycling infrastructure. Over half of my friends and even my significant other have never cycled in the city due to safety concerns, and I think it says a lot about the large number of people that current lack of safe cycling infrastructure is preventing people from switching from car and buses that add to existing grid lock and losing valuable time they can be doing something else.

Bill 212 is a significant overreach of power by the provincial government and it inherently has an imbalance of consideration as to who has priority on municipal roads. Blanket legislation like this divides people in the city and rural areas even further because people in different areas have different needs. If reducing grid lock and saving time is the objective, we must give municipalities the ability to make their own decision about road uses.

Thank you,
Seita