[afransen]

I understand the passion and wanting to stick up a middle finger to the removal of the bike lanes, but caution that if bikes start holding up traffic on major arterials by taking up a full lane, the next shoe to drop will be outlawing bikes on major arterials.

Banning bikes on arterials is laughable and cannot and won't be enforced. Do you think any police officer would deign to ticket cyclists when they don't bother to ticket supposedly banned e-scooters?

There are no credible alternatives. Ford is lying about putting bike lanes on alternative streets. He is just saying that to deflect criticism and to seem more reasonable to the average uninformed voter. Unless we are going to plow a new bike lane ROW through existing neighbourhoods, such alternative routes will be winding and circuitous and cyclists will continue to use the 'main roads', particularly as that is where most of the destinations/services are located.

 

[afransen]

As a resident and worker downtown I can say that the number of non-car vehicles has exploded over the last 5 years and these aren’t going away with a reduction of bike lanes, they will simply mix with traffic. We are not just talking about commuters on bikes but food delivery people as well as scooters.

This move by Ford is just a last ditch attempt to halt a trend that is accelerating across the region and I await the law-suits and challenges to come flooding in. That and the first death of a cyclist from a well-connected suburban family.

We will see how businesses react to this.

Realistically, Ford's government has an expiry date. Perhaps 5 years. They will be gone, and surely the Liberal or NDP government that replaces them will eliminate this silly legislation. So it is at most a 5 year slowdown in progress.

 

[afransen]

A Critical Mass event has been organized for this Friday, starting at High Park. Via TheBikingLawyer on X.

View attachment 615419

For maximum effect, shouldn't the ride start at 4:30 or 5pm?

 

[vic]

For maximum effect, shouldn't the ride start at 4:30 or 5pm?

Cyclists have jobs too?

 

[Admiral Beez]

Cyclists have jobs too?

Okay, but 6:30 pm on a damp and gloomy Friday in post-covid, wfh Toronto? Why not do it on Christmas Day, the only time the roads could possibly be less used?

 

[Mihairokov]

Realistically, Ford's government has an expiry date. Perhaps 5 years. They will be gone, and surely the Liberal or NDP government that replaces them will eliminate this silly legislation. So it is at most a 5 year slowdown in progress.

Similar to our neighbours to the south there is no guarantee that what follows for the PCs isn't "worse" in this respect than what we currently have in Ford. There's no sense making any assumptions that that Liberals or NDP are due for power in an allotted number of years.

 

[TheGrimSweeper]

Similar to our neighbours to the south there is no guarantee that what follows for the PCs isn't "worse" in this respect than what we currently have in Ford. There's no sense making any assumptions that that Liberals or NDP are due for power in an allotted number of years.

Nothing is guaranteed but politics generally very much follows cycles. After 12 years of Ford (assuming he wins), several years of Pierre and 4 years of Trump I would be quite surprised if Ontario did not swing back.

 

[Mihairokov]

Nothing is guaranteed but politics generally very much follows cycles. After 12 years of Ford (assuming he wins), several years of Pierre and 4 years of Trump I would be quite surprised if Ontario did not swing back.

I'm not going to belabour this point other than saying that I don't think we should assume that Trump will only be in office for four years. If not, whatever comes after Ford/Poilievre/Trump could be worse than what we are currently stuck with. Think it's difficult to say that the current situation in the US is a more a cycle and less a backslide. Not that you're doing this, but I think it's naive of people to laugh off the next four years of Trump as if the damage that will be done between now and then may be so irreparable that there's no coming back from it. I'd argue they're already past that point.

Anyway, we're stuck with Ford for the time being, and may be stuck with him for longer if voters outside of Toronto choose that in the new year.

 

[Towered]

Realistically, Ford's government has an expiry date. Perhaps 5 years. They will be gone, and surely the Liberal or NDP government that replaces them will eliminate this silly legislation. So it is at most a 5 year slowdown in progress.

Agreed. The moment his party loses, this stupid bill will be repealed and then Toronto will immediately re-install any bike lanes that were removed. What a stupid circus.

 

[evandyk]

How many pedestrians are killed by cyclists and how many cyclists are (would be) killed by cars? I don't have the numbers at hand, but I bet one of them is much higher than the other.

Since 2000, I believe that cyclists have collided with and killed two people in Ontario, while drivers have collided with and killed about 9,600 people (average 400/year).