Like many, many Ontarians, I…

Like many, many Ontarians, I don't own a car--for health reasons, for safety reasons, and for environmental reasons, and because the cost associated with car ownership seems too high to justify. I think we can all agree that this in itself reduces traffic. Part of what allows me to do this is bike lanes. When I was in grade 11, a street near my house was refurbished, and part of that refurbishment involved adding bike lanes. For the first time I was able to bike to school without having an unnervingly high number of near misses. And no, traffic did not become observably worse as a consequence of their addition.

Ripping out Toronto's bike lanes, at a time when the provincial deficit is approaching historic rates, is petty, partisan government waste neither Toronto nor Ontario can afford, whether it costs 1, 5, 20, or 48 million dollars. It represents a wasteful, arrogant, and petty view of tax dollars that represents the worst of politicians and government.

Times are changing. Not everyone can be expected to spend hundreds of dollars a month on car expenses. Nor can the government afford to waste any amount of money tearing up infrastructure. Bill 212 should be withdrawn.