I bike to work every day of…

I bike to work every day of the week. I am proud to live in a city that has been steadily improving its biking infrastructure year over over and, in doing so, truly showing a commitment to sustainability and addressing climate change. When I bike on Bloor, I feel safe and free. The protected lane encourages me to ride my bike instead of drive or take transit. Biking is often the fastest way for me to get around the city to the places I want to go. (Or a combination of biking and TTC. Love the bike racks on the busses.)

So I am deeply disappointed by the policies proposed in Bill 212, and by the disingenuous “massaging” of data to promote the false narrative that these lanes are underused. Urban policy research shows that adding motor lanes does NOT reduce congestion over time. Furthermore, usage of bike infrastructure takes time to increase - the better it is and the longer it is there, the more people will use it over time. We need to invest in the future instead of selfishly and foolishly wasting money to remove something that is GOOD and could get BETTER in our city.

At times I am a motorist and I get that traffic is frustrating (and not good for air quality or the climate). The solution is MORE bike lanes and BETTER public transit, not more motor lanes. Make bike infrastructure and TTC so good that people will choose it over driving. We have no time to waste. We need to get off fossil fuels. Period. We should be disincentivizing driving, not encouraging it. And I say that as someone who owns a car and enjoys the convenience of driving. I urge you to do the right thing and keep your hands off our bike lanes.