Saving You Time

 ...but destroying the environment and likely killing some cyclists in the process. That's Doug Ford's new Bill 212: Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act. 

Despite all research, knowledge and reality to the contrary, Ford is trying to convince people that RIPPING UP bike lanes will save them time on their way to work. This is, without question, another in a long line of tactics of pitting one group of citizens against another in order to get away with a giant grift, stealing billions from the province! He's giving us all $200 in hope we like him and take our rage and frustrations out on our neighbours!! Hate the cyclists, the maskers, the environmentalists, the science centre nuts, the tree huggers, but love the gov! 

But I digress.

His plan is not to just stop adding bike lanes to cities, but to spend billions to destroy them. Everywhere. Bike lanes are saving lives by giving cyclists as wee bit of space, which helps to reduce the number of cars on the road, which enables people to get to work faster. 

From Brent Toderian, formerly Vancouver's chief city planner, 

THIS IS IMPORTANT! Public consultation on the Doug Ford Govt's SENSELESS BIKE-LANE LEGISLATION is open until November 20. Please read my thread below, and then FLOOD THEM WITH YOUR COMMENTS! Hint: The title is lying. It won't reduce gridlock or save time.

Anyone who actually understands better cities adn transportation knows THE TRUTH, that protected bik lane networks HELP rather than cause congestion, adding more trips and MORE CHOICE in how to get around using les space and public money, with less pollution and fewer crashes. Bike lanes aren't anti-car; they're pro-city. Smart cities know this. Calling this effective ban (that's what this is, let's be clear) on cities creating protected bike-lanes WRONGHEADED is a massive understatement. It would be like banning success or smart decision-making. 

Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users. 

ALL ROAD USERS

"We're finding that it ends up being a safer city for everyone."

Plus they move more people, too. 

Ford doesn't JUST plan to block new bike-lanes--he also plans to rip out routes that are already built. This is all a blatant attack on better, smarter city-building that would hurt Ontario. And it would MAKE TRAFFIC WORSE. 

Quoting Jeff Leiper's article, Doug Ford's bike-lane legislation is about politics, not safety or traffic flow,

"Ford's government is reacting to [actually, they're FUELLING] perceptions that bike lands are causing congestion despite evidence that the real culprit behind traffic jams is too many cars. Bike lanes are part of that solution to congestion"

A bike-lane moved 2.5 times as many peopel as a regular traffic lane in a TFL study, and given that they are half the width, the study contluced that bike-lanes are five times as efficient as vehicle traffic lanes. Mobility in cities is about space.  

And then he has videos of how much safer it feels cycling in a protected lane. 

I haven't cycled in a true protected lane since living in Ottawa. In Waterloo, I regularly bike on streets with a painted line THAT DISAPPEARS and suddenly cars drivers get aggressive because you're in the lane WITH them!! Cycle from Herrle's Market on Erb into town, and you lose the bike lane right about where the bus starts. That's the number one place I get yelled at for existing. Imagine if cyclists and the buses shared a car-free lane!! Imagine how much faster buses would be!!! And cycling from Park and William towards Kitchener puts you suddenly in the lane squished between moving and parked cars, just waiting to be doored. If only the parking were restricted to one side only, and then cyclists could have a wee lane!!

This might benefit all Ford's buddies who work in transportation as they rip up all the roads again, but it doesn't benefit the children cycling to school, or the citizens of Ontario moving forward, or the environment as we hurdle into the worst of climate change, but we already know Ford doesn't give a shit about any of that. 

The big problem with Ford's line of reasoning is that more lanes doesn't stop congestion. Jane Jacobs pointed out decades about that the more lanes people have to drive, the more people drive, and the slower everyone goes. 

Will it save you time?? Maybe a minute or two at first, then the additional lanes will fill up. Will it save lives?? Absolutely not. That seems to be his goal. 

Be careful out there, kids! He's creating the conditions for anti-bike hatred.