Bike lanes are an essential…

Bike lanes are an essential part of our city. A city is not meant to service only a few, but all of its residents. Not everyone drives a car. I drive, and I also cycle.

My teenage son cycles. I like to know he’s safe. He’s not old enough to drive. He might look like a man from a distance, but he’s still a child. Knowing he’s in a bike lane that keeps him safe, allows me to give him the independence he deserves.

I cycle to work. I could drive. But cycling is better for my physical fitness, my mental health. It’s better for the environment. Less pollution. Less parking space. Less congestion on the roads. My cycling is better for me and better for everyone. My life should not be at risk for making positive choices.

Bike lanes don’t slow traffic so significantly to merit tearing them up. The construction will definitely slow traffic though. Parking on main streets slows traffic. Why don’t you ticket and tow people who are illegally parked. Start on Bathurst for example. One person parked to selfishly pick up food at Dupont or St Clair can result in me sitting in my car and watching the traffic lights change up to five times without making it through the intersection. You want to make a difference in traffic flow? Get the illegal parkers.

It’s absolutely absurd that you would spend taxpayer money to rip up existing infrastructure, when that infrastructure saves lives. I feel infinitely safer on a bike lane than I do mixed with traffic. I can’t bike only on side streets, because my destination is not on a side street. I deserve to arrive alive, safely.

I want to see my husband and my son come home safely from biking. When we drive places, we don’t mind sharing the road. Cyclists are taxpayers too, and our lives matter.