Premier Doug Ford knew that going after bike lanes was a perfect culture wars distraction from the other issues plaguing his government, and the number of public comments prove it.
In October, Ford announced he would get rid of three bike lanes in Toronto. His government tabled Bill 212, now passed, to require Ontario’s municipalities to receive provincial approval to build new bike lanes.
As originally written, Bill 212 did not give the Province powers to remove bike lanes – Ford quickly added those powers.
His Bill 212 ignited one of the largest deluge of comments.
“A total of 19,124 comments were received.”
On December 18, the Province released comments received during the public comment period for Bill 212.
Here’s a selection of comments that state they are from the Hamilton area:
hamilton mountain resident, so stupid. getting rid of cyclist lanes will only create more traffic. now that bike is going to in front of me on a lane i can’t pass instead of them being in their own lane. really backwards thinking from this government. [Comment 103250]
The City of Hamilton is going in the wrong direction. The Council has approved 29 million to convert one way Main Street (a main artery for eastbound traffic in the city core) to two way. Bike Lanes are included in the plan which will create massive traffic congestion and higher costs of transportation. FORD must stop it. [Comment 101497]
I work in Hamilton and commute by bicycle–but if the safe lanes that I rely on are removed, I’ll be in yet another vehicle clogging the roads.
Drivers win when fewer people are on the road. So rather than building more driving lanes, let’s focus on getting people out of cars and into public and active transport. There simply isn’t a rationale for imposing restrictions on bike lanes beyond cheap political points-scoring. [Comment 102917]
I bike to work more than I drive. It takes me 30min to drive on most days because of highway traffic and 35-40min to bike. I’m looking forward to pushing my cycling into November or even later if I can. One part of my route is extremely busy during rush hour but thankfully my municipality of Hamilton has a bike lane there. It isn’t perfect as it isn’t protected, but it allows for the stack of cars to inch along as I ride on past them. Removing this bike lane won’t speed up traffic as I would then be riding within traffic. I would also be at greater risk of being killed by a vehicle as they race to pass me. [Comment 102690]
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: December 31, 2024
Last updated: December 31, 2024
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
During all of the trips through Hamilton that I made over the past year, I’ve seen no more than a couple of bicycles in bike lanes along the main streets of the city.
Why you all feel the need to pretend that we, as a society, are advancing due to actions such as the removal of roadways to dedicate more and more room to non-existent bike traffic is beyond me.
I understand that there are a dozen or so people who claim to ride a bike to work at times, but those numbers, apparently, are way, way too low to merit the money spent and the roadways lost.
Bonnie, I believe you are greatly underestimating the prevalence of cyclists in Hamilton. As a bike-commuting student at McMaster, who rides from Sherman, I see a ton of bike traffic on the dedicated lanes. Especially in the warmer months, but including the colder as well. The SoBi deal, allowing all Mac students 90 minutes per day, has also greatly increased biking on the city’s bicycle accessible streets.