Poor planning leaves many on the road unsafe

Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths are up. So why is Toronto set to spend less on making streets safer?

March 12 Columnist Matt Elliott is right that cyclists need to be protected. However, inept planning has created dangerous situations for everyone. We all need to demand better.

First is the congestion. In Etobicoke, a representative from a fire hall says that they were not consulted on the bike lanes. On their first run after installation, a short run took almost 30 minutes because cars couldn’t pull over. Now they must weave in and out of the narrow sidewalkless residential Etobicoke streets. They now file reports on inadequate response times on a regular basis. Bloor is a major arterial road, and now much more limited for vehicle traffic. Cars use the narrow side streets, putting school kids and seniors are at particular risk. People with disabilities can’t park near shops and restaurants. Business is down. Café TO is at risk.

Yes, we must consider cyclists, but we must factor the interests of all into planning.

Gail Rutherford, Etobicoke

The City of Toronto found that spending $29 million this year on “projects designed to make streets safer” was too much and plans to reduce it down to $5 million a year after 2028. Meanwhile Premier Doug Ford plans to spend at least $6 billion to $10 billion on Highway 413, which is arguably unnecessary and will cut through the Greenbelt. When Ford was a city councillor, he was clear that he wanted to stop the “war on the cars.” It is going to be hard to consider cyclist infrastructure and safety with him in Queen’s Park. To quote Leonard Cohen: “Everybody knows the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost.”

Moses Shuldiner, Toronto