Last week at a news conference , Premier Doug Ford confirmed that his government is considering a province-wide ban on bike lanes where their installation would require removal of a vehicle lane. This proposal may be good populist politics. The topic of bike lanes is contentious. It often elicits visceral negative reactions, from business owners who see them as a threat to commerce, from neighbourhood groups who see them as a threat to what they believe is their God-given right to on street parking and, from drivers in general, who see bike lanes as a loss of their allocated road space and an addition of complexity to their already mentally and emotionally challenging commute. Yet the installation of bike lanes, as part of a broader vision for allowing more choice in how we travel, is a potential antidote for many of today’s environmental, social and economic challenges.

In Brampton 60% of our carbon emissions come from transportation, mostly from private automobiles. Currently 86% of Brampton’s 880,000 daily travel trips are by a personal vehicle, (car, SUV, truck). Only 14% use walking, cycling or transit despite the fact that almost half of these trips are less than 5 kilometers, (a 15-minute bike ride). Even a small shift from cars to sustainable transportation modes would reduce emissions and help put our country on track to meet international climate targets.

Easy access to cars means less physical activity leading to health problems including diabetes and coronary diseases. Vehicle exhaust contains noxious gases and particulate matter, all of which have been proven to cause cancer and other ailments. A shift from cars to active and sustainable transportation would improve health outcomes and help reduce the strain on our currently over-burdened healthcare system.

Over-engineered roads in Brampton encourage high-speed driving which puts all road users at increased risk of injury and death. The road fatality rate in Brampton since 2012 remains stubbornly high at between 1.5 and 3.4 deaths per hundred thousand population annually. The installation of on-street traffic calming infrastructure including lanes dedicated to active transportation has been shown to improve road safety by reducing average vehicle speed while improving traffic efficiency. Counter-intuitively, the installation of these active lanes does not increase travel times significantly for drivers. In fact, congestion is often reduced as the flow of traffic improves and potential drivers now choose a bike or other micro-mobility device to travel this safer piece of infrastructure.

Finally there is a strong economic argument for travel by active means rather than the car both individually and on a community basis. Cars cost many thousands of dollars more to own and operate than all but the most expensive bicycle or micro-mobility device. Bicycle road infrastructure is way cheaper to build and maintain than roads designed strictly for larger vehicles. And the space efficiency of bicycles and transit vehicles means that existing roads can accommodate the movement of way more people than if everyone uses their own motorized vehicle. So the cost per person/kilometer travelled drops dramatically the more people use sustainable modes of transportation.

Everyone wants safer streets, healthier communities, more affordable transportation and a clean and healthy environment. The research shows that encouraging active and sustainable transportation, (walking, cycling, micro-mobility, transit), is an effective way to achieve these goals. Conversely, supporting policies that favour car travel do just the opposite. The Ford government has made car licenses free, reduced the sales tax on gasoline and is busy building more roads of questionable value such as highway 413.

This operates against the movement of progressive cities like Brampton that are building safe, affordable healthy transportation networks that provide options other than travel by personal automobile. Their actions are delivering positive results. As the streets get safer, more and more people make the choice to use sustainable modes. The use of bicycles and scooters and their electric assist equivalents has never been higher. Every trip taken by active mode represents one less car trip, potentially safer streets and more road space for everyone. There is no need for the Province to meddle, yet again, in the affairs of these municipalities by dictating to them how people should move.

Actions You Can Take

We ask that you take the following actions:

• Sign the Cycle Toronto online petition against the Ford Government’s plan to ban bike lanes
• 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!

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