Hello, As a car owner living…

Hello,

As a car owner living in Toronto, I can appreciate the frustration of traffic. However I strongly believe that using taxpayer money to rip up downtown bike lanes is not an effective or logical use of resources. I am opposed to Bill 212. The bike lanes along Bloor Street in Toronto, for example, were built after consideration, planning, and piloting over many years. The evidence shows that the bike lanes have not negatively impacted traffic times, while they have positively impacted economic activity and reduced collisions. There is no logic behind this bill and frankly I consider it to be waste of time and money. The bike lanes were considerable infrastructure projects which were not installed frivolously. In fact, what is shown to negatively effect traffic congestion the most is construction, which would be required to remove the bike lanes. More cyclists use the lanes all the time, and later into the winter months. Please do not use money to pursue an ideologically-based policy of removing bike lanes, when an evidence-based policy supports their use and even their expansion. Cities around the world are expanding their bicycling networks because of the proven benefits for reducing collisions. Local governments know best what works in their jurisdictions. Considering Ontario is larger than many countries, surely there are other issues which actually require provincial attention. The provincial government’s attempt to micro-manage municipal road planning is poorly conceived. Cyclists will continue to use those streets, property will be damaged by collisions, and people will be injured. Please reconsider this costly and shortsighted bill.