TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:
WHEREAS Premier Ford and Minister Sarkaria want to give the province power to restrict new bike lanes and rip up existing ones; and,
WHEREAS this is a massive provincial overreach that will limit municipalities’ ability to address critical safety, traffic and environmental concerns; and,
WHEREAS implementing this plan will create endless red tape and waste urgently-needed resources for Ontario’s hospitals, schools and other public services; and,
WHEREAS numerous studies show that dedicated bike lanes decrease traffic congestion over time while additional car lanes increase it; and,
WHEREAS the Premier and Minister of Transportation should instead be prioritizing key provincial transit projects that will actually reduce congestion, such as Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown and Finch LRT, which are costing Ontarians billions of dollars in delays; and,
WHEREAS the Ontario Conservative government is using bike lanes as a political wedge issue to distract from their real agenda of skipping proper environmental assessments to fast track Highway 413; and,
WHEREAS every year, far too many lives are lost due to unsafe roads, and too many vulnerable road users are put in harm’s way;
THEREFORE WE THE UNDERSIGNED petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:
- Oppose Bill 212 (Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act) to keep Ontario’s roads safe and prevent the waste of resources on a project that will only make congestion worse;
- Support the expansion of safe and convenient active transportation infrastructure to give people more transit options, not fewer; and,
- Increase protections for vulnerable road users to ensure all Ontarians get home safe to their loved ones.