A blanket prohibition…

A blanket prohibition against ever reducing traffic lanes when installing bike lanes simply does not make sense.

What if the bike lane is being installed on a relatively quiet street? What if the road is being changed to implement traffic calming measures anyway? What if adding a bike lane on one road will give cyclists a path to the downtown or transit hub, thereby diverting them from a busier one? There are scenarios where reducing a lane of traffic will have no overall effect on in the area, or where diverting cars is the desired result, or where it could even improve the overall flow of traffic in the area. Why would you want to ban lane reduction in any of these scenarios?

It's also taking away a valuable tool from the people whose job it is keep communities moving safely and efficiently. Municipalities have to develop transportation plans to meet the needs of all the members in their communities, including driver and non-drivers. Reducing a lane of traffic to add a bike lane (or summer patios, or...) is a decision that is taken after weighing a number of factors, including the needs and wishes of the community that live there, and considering the long term effects. It is completely unreasonable for the province to come along and say "never mind what other needs you are balancing, never mind what your community wants, never mind your carbon reduction targets or the health and safety of the cyclists you are trying to protect, you are simply not allowed to use this particular tool, because you must prioritize cars over everything else".

This proposed legislation is not in the best interests of the people of Ontario.