Premier Doug Ford confirmed at a news conference yesterday that his government wants a province-wide ban on bike lanes where the installation requires removal of a vehicle lane. BikeBrampton supports Toronto Bicycling Network’s position. This ban, should it come into effect, would endanger bicyclists and the future of bicycling in Ontario in many ways:
- It will cripple Toronto and other municipalities who are trying to rebalance street space to make room for bicyclists and pedestrians after decades of motor vehicle-centric planning.
- It will not do anything to reduce traffic congestion – past experience all over the world shows that making more space for cars only attracts additional traffic (a phenomenon known as induced demand).
- It sets a terrible precedent – if Doug Ford can successfully blame bicyclists for provincial traffic problems, we will see future legislation targeting existing bike facilities that compete with motor vehicle lanes. Premier Ford may well have telegraphed his upcoming plans when he said bicyclists should be sent to “secondary roads” and expressed a desire to remove bike lanes on busy streets like Bloor or University.
Actions You Can Take
We ask that you take the following actions immediately:
- Sign the Cycle Toronto online petition against this plan
- Write to your MPP and tell them that you support bike lanes and that local street planning should be left to the municipalities.
- Ask your family and friends, all across Ontario, to do the same. We need all the help we can get.
- Get involved, we are asking for volunteers to help organizing our response to the Province’s proposed legislation.
We can’t have safer streets, healthier communities and a sustainable environment by encouraging more car traffic!
Everyone wants safer streets, healthier communities, and a clean and healthy environment. Encouraging active and sustainable transportation, (walking, cycling, micro-mobility, transit), is a proven and effective way to achieve these goals. Conversely, supporting policies that favour car travel do just the opposite according to research. Cities and towns across the Province need to get on with the job of building a safe, affordable healthy transportation network that will provide options other than travel by personal automobile.
Please take action today!
The Ontario government should be building policies on facts rather than pandering to an ill-informed portion of the population who believe that their right to personal transportation convenience trumps everything else. Let’s not allow them to put political ideology in the way of building better communities!
Check the facts against Doug Ford’s claims, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-toronto-bike-lanes-1.7332276