Hello, I am strongly…

Hello,

I am strongly against the proposal to remove bike lanes from Bloor St., Yonge St., and University Ave. I live in the Danforth area and am a regular cyclist. I heavily rely on those bike lanes, particularly the lanes on Bloor, to get around the city quickly and safely by bike.

When I first moved to the city 9 years ago, I rarely cycled, both due to safety concerns about riding on busy streets, and not wanting to take an extremely roundabout route via quieter side streets. But now there is so much more and safer bike infrastructure in the city that it has become my preferred mode of transport. I am also clearly not alone in this, as I have never been alone as a cyclist using those lanes. No matter what hour of the day, there is always at least one other cyclist using the lanes around me, and during peak travel hours, the lanes are absolutely packed with cyclist commuters.

Removing these bike lanes will dramatically worsen traffic in the short term (due to construction), and will not improve traffic in the long term. More drivers will use these streets if they perceive them to be faster, and traffic will swiftly return to the current state of gridlock. I invite Premier Doug Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to Google the term "induced demand" at their earliest convenience in order to learn why this proposal is a shortsighted and poorly thought out idea.

Finally, I would ask that the Ford government stick to their own lane and not interfere with local concerns. Citizens voted for these bike lanes, and they have the full support of elected Toronto representatives. There is absolutely no need to pass provincial legislation affecting every Ontario city's ability to install their own bike lanes, simply because Doug Ford wants a faster commute to Queen's Park.

Sincerely,
A cyclist concerned for their safety