I would like to convey my…

I would like to convey my personal experience regarding riding a bicycle not only in Brampton, where I live, but also in Toronto, where I cycle many times during the year for pleasure.

Since I starting riding my bicycle in 2017, I have increased my trips with each passing year, not only for the fun rides I do but also for my commuting rides. I never took my bicycle to go grocery shopping or simple errands around town. I do these much of the time now.

In 2017, the bike lanes in Brampton, as well as Toronto were at a much lower volume than they have grown to in recent years especially. I am a road warrior and have not had fear of the cars. However, in saying that, car drivers have become more dangerous and less mindful and aware of their road surroundings and cyclists have become more at risk.

With the increased cycling lanes that have been put in place, protected or not, I have made it a point to use these lanes as much as possible. They have provided protection and added confidence that I will be safer than on the road. I have appreciated greatly and efforts to have these put in place on roads where it made sense. Many are secondary roads. I have not noticed any congestion here in Brampton due to the lanes being put in. I have cycled to Toronto a few times this year on Bloor Street and University Avenue and other roads and have also not noticed any more congestion than you normally would experience otherwise.

These lanes are providing safety and saving lives. Installing these lanes also means traffic calming which is safer because drivers need to slow down as speed is an ever continuing and growing issue. I have noticed over the years that there are more cycling commuters on the roads and using the lanes because owning a vehicle has become ever increasingly expensive and some cannot afford this, so a bicycle is a viable option.

Along with improving public transit options and increasing cycling as a means of transportation, we have limited other options to reduce car users and the exponentially increasing drivers out there. We should not aim to increase car traffic and continue to build more roads or wider roads. The environment calls for better options and as the saying goes "If you build it, they will come". It is working and cycling traffic has increased with the increase of cycling lanes.