I have previously commented…

I have previously commented on my opposition to Bill 212, but that was before the update of October 31, 2024 where the framework would require the province to remove sections of the Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue bike lanes in the City of Toronto and return them to a lane of traffic for motor vehicles.

I feel that this specific provision in Bill 212 is particularly terrible because it flies in the face of the government’s own proposed review process where municipalities are required to submit information about existing bike lanes on municipal roads where an existing vehicle lane was removed. In the very notice for Bill 212, it says “based on the outcome of the review, a regulation could be made to require the removal of the bike lane and its return to a lane of traffic.”

To this statement, I ask the question: what review did the provincial government conduct that determined sections of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue should be removed? It appears that no reviews were conducted, no rationale other than a severely misinformed view that bike lanes cause congestion has been provided, and certainly no “evidence-based” decision making has been employed here.

Instead, we have Premier Ford saying that the City of Toronto’s $48 million estimate for the cost of removing bike lanes on these three streets is “hogwash.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/report-cost-removal-bike-lanes-t…

No, hogwash is throwing millions of dollars already spent and approved by the City in the bin. Hogwash is saying there will be “a set of specified criteria” according to which municipalities need to follow for new or existing bike lanes to be approved by the Province, and then predetermining the outcome for bikes lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University before such criteria has even been developed. Hogwash is the temerity of the Premier and the Transportation Minister to override the will of municipalities – Toronto in particular – whose elected officials approved the implementation of bike lanes only after EXTENSIVE REVIEW conducted by experienced City officials who are much better placed than the Province to make these determinations.

I am enraged that the Province of Ontario is actively working to rip up existing cycling infrastructure paid for through my property taxes. As a cyclist, I have come to depend on safe infrastructure that prevents motor vehicles from maiming or killing me in my daily commute. All Toronto cyclists have come to depend on this infrastructure, but not all will simply give up cycling if the Government has its way and tears up the bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University. These streets will continue to be used by cyclists, only they will now be put in danger. Know this: by removing these bike lanes and preventing the expansion of cycling networks in municipalities across Ontario, the Premier and the Minister of Transportation will be partly responsible for the deaths and injuries of not only cyclists but motorists and pedestrians who are safer precisely because cycling infrastructure forces motorists to slow down and obey speed limits.

I will not repeat all my previous arguments, but I will say that just about every organization I have seen with thoughts on Bill 212 have been opposed to this legislation. To mention just a few, we have the Ontario Professional Planners Institute who say “the proposed legislative changes will not reduce congestion, will increase risk to public safety, and move away from evidence-based practices. It is also counter to the 2024 Provincial Planning Statement, which includes several policies that support the use of bike lanes.”

https://ontarioplanners.ca/OPPIAssets/Documents/Policy-Papers/OPPI-Stat…

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has said “Bicycle lanes are an essential element of urban transportation planning and road safety. Requiring provincial approval would be a significant overreach into municipal jurisdiction.”

https://www.amo.on.ca/policy/finance-infrastructure-and-economy/provinc…

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, in their response to Bill 212, say that the bill “is a step in the wrong direction for Ontario’s future” and that “this proposed legislation risks reinforcing a car-centric approach to urban planning that prioritizes vehicles over pedestrians and cyclists. Limiting bike lane installation and removing environmental assessment processes for major highway projects does nothing to reduce gridlock. In fact, it actively ignores the growing demand for more sustainable, safe, and diverse transportation options.”

https://ospe.on.ca/advocacy/response-to-bill-212-why-we-need-to-rethink…

On the day that I write this comment, I see that the University of Toronto has written to Mayor Chow and the Toronto City Council to “reiterate the University of Toronto’s support for bike lanes that increase access to the U of T campus and surrounding community. In 2017, U of T supported the Bloor Bike Lanes Pilot Project and continues to see the value of bike lanes in enhancing modes of safely accessing the University Campus.”

https://x.com/DianneSaxe/status/1859286160540839947/photo/1

Similarly, the Bloor-Annex Business Improvement Area (BIA) has been quoted in an article saying ‘“If Premier Ford is looking for evidence showing the positive impact of bike lanes, he should look no further than the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (Bloor Annex BIA),” the BIA said, adding that removing any bike lanes in the area would be “disastrous to the neighbourhood.”’

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/10/31/ontario-confirms-it-aims-to-remo…

One last question I have for the Province of Ontario is whether there is any limit to the number of individuals protesting and organizations publishing statements in opposition to Bill 212 that would force the Government to reconsider this incredibly wrong-headed piece of legislation?

I know from the Greenbelt Scandal that Premier Ford is capable of abandoning ill-advised plans and I hope the same is true this time around. This is because, as I have previously stated, people will get seriously injured and die because of this legislation. There is absolutely no good that will come from passing Bill 212 into law and I urge Premier Ford and Transportation Minister Sarkaria to reverse course for the good of all Ontario road users.