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FORUM: Dangerous road safety bill is a distraction (Dec. 2024)

December 16th, 2024 · No Comments

It’s as if being premier is too hard and he would rather be mayor of Toronto

By Jessica Bell

The Conservatives anti-bike bill went to committee in mid-November. It came into committee bad, and it went out worse.

The Conservatives introduced an 11-page amendment that gives the government power to remove the entire Bloor, University, and Yonge Street bike lanes, bans municipalities from creating new bike lanes on all streets, including side streets, if a vehicle lane is removed without first getting permission from the province, and blocks lawsuits arising from injuries or deaths from the removal of these bike lanes. 

In committee, I listened to people’s testimony and read people’s written submissions.  In my six years at Queen’s Park, I have never seen more people sign up to speak to a bill. Not a single person who spoke in committee was in support of Bill 212.

We heard from the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Association that the bike lanes have led to an increase in sales at retail outlets along Bloor.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario recommended the government focus resources on accelerating its own approval processes for transit projects—like the Eglinton Crosstown—that can have much higher impacts on congestion, instead of micromanaging bike lane removals.   

Volunteers with Friends and Families for Safe Streets shared devasting stories of loved ones—sisters, mothers, children—being killed while cycling on Toronto’s roads. They begged for safe, protected infrastructure like bike lanes. 

City of Toronto staff said the installation of the bike lanes has reduced injuries and deaths, led to an increase in bike traffic, and had minimal impact on vehicle commute times, and has had no negative impact on emergency vehicle response times. 

The fact is that the three bike lanes in downtown Toronto are not the reason why our entire region has the worst commute times in North America.

Congestion is caused by many things. Our population has doubled over the last 40 years, yet we have about the same number of roads. We have traffic accidents, construction blocking traffic lanes, bad weather. 

If the government was serious about making it easier for us to get around, then they would move ahead with practical solutions to congestion, not divisive games.

Let’s allow transport trucks to travel on the 407 for free, freeing up space on the 401. Make transit a fast, cheap, and attractive option by investing in transit operations and maintenance. Build more apartments—and services—along transit routes so more of us can take transit, walk, or bike to our destination instead of permitting low-density and expensive suburban sprawl, which locks people into long commutes by car. 

With an early election looming, the Conservatives’ move to blame bike lanes for congestion is a way for them to blame something or someone instead of showing leadership and addressing the challenge. They’ve doing this a lot right now.

 The Conservatives are blaming the liberal carbon tax for the affordability crisis—a crisis they could help address by stabilizing housing prices and cracking down on price gouging at the supermarket.

The Conservatives are blaming the poor for living in encampments—when this government has failed to build affordable housing or provide more affordable rental homes.

The truth is the Ontario legislature is a very powerful political body, that absolutely has the power to fix our most pressing issues, like ending homelessness, ensuring everyone has a family doctor, funding our public schools so our kids get a good education, and addressing congestion. 

To that end, the province’s pre-budget consultations for its 2025 budget have just begun.  You can sign up to speak in committee in Toronto on January 29 or submit your written comments by going to https://www.ola.org/en/apply-committees. 

Please contact our office at jbell-co@ndp.on.ca if you need help, wish to volunteer, or give us feedback. 

Jessica Bell is MPP for University-Rosedale and the Housing Critic for the Official Opposition at Queen’s Park.

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Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion

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