It is hard to argue with…

It is hard to argue with this bill because it is not crafted in good faith. Even the title is wrong because removing the ability for municipalities to build bicycle infrastructure will not in fact reduce delays. It has been shown time and again that building more road capacity for cars does not reduce congestion. This bill is clearly just politically motivated in order to gin up the conservative base and to try to pit urban vs. suburban and rural voters against each other.

However, I will try to argue in good faith against this proposal even if the provincial government will not.
* Adding more road capacity does not reduce congestion or delays as it induces demand for more automobile trips. The 401 is evidence of this.
* Increasing the amount folks are driving is bad for the environment as it increases emissions.
* Widening roadways is in general bad for the businesses along them. The ones that seem to benefit from better car infrastructure are big box stores, which extract wealth from the community rather than spending in it.
* More bicycle infrastructure is good for the health of everyone in the community, not just those who use it. There are no emissions and almost no noise pollution associated with it. Also, bicycles are safer for pedestrians when compared to cars due to the obvious difference in momentum and their lack of blindspots.
* Bicycles offer a way for folks to get around who cannot drive due to the extreme cost.
* Bicycles also are a way for young people or those who cannot legally obtain a licence to get around as well.
* Bicycle lanes are clearly a municipal juristiction and the province should not be involved with them.

For all these reasons, we should be incentivizing folks to bike around. However, this government is not concerned with the public good at all and nonsensical bills, such as this one, are proof of this.