Bill 212, introduced by the Ontario government, sets an unwelcome precedent in provincial overreach and is entangling efforts to make streets safer in a culture war. Safe streets are not a partisan issue, we all stand for safe streets. What is it about Bill 212 – Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act that is so concerning?
Municipalities Know Their Streets the Best, Not the Province
Bill 212 would require provincial approval for the construction of new bike infrastructure in local municipalities and hinder the ability to implement other road safety initiatives. The City of Peterborough has recently adopted a Cycling Master Plan to help guide this community towards a comprehensive system of safe and accessible routes for travelling by bicycle around the city and to help us reach the City’s stated goal of 25% active transportation mode share as set out in its current Transportation Master Plan. This plan was developed with extensive community consultation and keen attention to best practices.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario is concerned as well. Their position is that municipal expertise is best positioned to make decisions on bike lanes and local transportation planning, and these proposed changes are an overreach into municipal jurisdiction. We don’t want the province telling us what to do, costing our municipalities more by encumbering its work with bureaucracy. Is it the province’s place to step in and dictate to our community what may or may not be built on our streets? We don’t think so.
Flawed Rationale
The rationale for implementing this legislation is flawed. Research has shown time and again that increasing the use of active transportation reduces rather than increases congestion. More people on bikes means less cars on the road. Emergency service leaders in Toronto have stated that response times in that city have gone up less where the bike lanes are located than on other streets.
Impeding Municipal Ability to Meet Transportation Safety Objectives
This legislation would make it significantly more time consuming, expensive and difficult for our community to implement new cycling infrastructure and other road safety measures, such as road diets. The road reconfiguration on George Street in front of the Holiday Inn is an example of a road diet. The street is safer for all road users and the traffic flow has been maintained.
We believe the proposed regulations could put a significant chill on progress being made in Peterborough and across the province towards improving the safety and travel times for all road users. If the Provincial government was serious about reducing congestion, they would be implementing HOV lanes on all busy highways. Too many single occupancy vehicles is the cause of congestion. You can’t build enough road lanes to meet the travel needs of everyone in the GTA.
Liveable Streets Bring More Tax Dollars to Municipalities
Adoption of this legislation threatens to set Ontario years back in the efforts to create livable, healthy, economically and environmentally sustainable communities. It would take us in the exact opposite direction of where we should be heading as municipalities and as a province. TIme and again, cities see that investment and tax revenue increase when we convert our streets to ones that people enjoy visiting.
Let your MPP and the Premier know how you feel about Bill 212.
Contact Premier Doug Ford
phone: 416-325-7635
email: [email protected]
Contact MPP Dave Smith
phone: (705) 742-3777
email: [email protected]