This initiative is counter…

This initiative is counter to the evidence provided to the government by the civil service and other experts, and its is anti-democratic by unnecessarily stripping municipal governments of existing powers.

The province should not control where cities put bike and bus lanes, this needs to belong to municipal governments. Municipal governments better understand local issues than the province and municipal governments are accountable to their electorates. The principle of subsidiarity says decisions need to be made at the lowest level possible. Municipal governments have years of experience dealing with the details of how to manage municipal roads, including bike lanes. No evidence has been provided by the provincial government to explain why municipalities are incapable of managing decisions about bike lanes and the province is better positioned to do this. If the premier wants to be mayor of Toronto, he should resign and start campaigning for the job he wants.

Despite the bill's title, the provincial government has produced no evidence that bike lanes (or bus lanes) worsen traffic congestion. In fact the Ontario cabinet has been advised by civil service that "most research ... suggests reducing road capacity by introducing bike lanes can encourage biking and discourage car use, alleviating congestion". The paper referenced in the advice to cabinet states in part that "bicycle lanes and cycle tracks can be more efficient at transporting people than private vehicles with a vehicle occupancy of one or two". Additional evidence that bike lanes don't worsen congestion is summarized in an article by Gebresselassie, Silva and Lum "Why bike lanes should remain on Ontario’s roads" (https://euc.yorku.ca/research-spotlight/why-bike-lanes-should-remain-on…).

Removing bike lanes will make roads more dangerous. Again, the government's advisors have highlighted this but cabinet seems deaf to their advice and seems happy to increase the risk of death and injury to cyclists.

Removing bike lanes is counter to the principles that underlie the government's policy of transit oriented development.

The proposed legislation isn't just just about bike lanes. Its about bike lanes and "any other prescribed purpose". This suggests that it could also be used to eliminate bus lanes. Bus lanes can significantly reduce congestion. Bus lanes make transit run faster, making it a more attractive option, which encourages drivers to become transit riders. What evidence does the government have that eliminating a bus lane reduce congestion?

<This feedback was submitted anonymously because the ERO's comment system was incapable of sending me a confirmation email so that I could register my comments under my name.>