Yellow Stripes of DEATH!

Well, the stripes are usually yellow. I’m talking about the new “small business killers” Toronto Mayor David Miller is painting all over our roads throughout the city. Why “small business killers,” you ask? Because these bike lanes typically come at the cost of street parking, the lifeblood of mom & pop retail storefront operations. Who could have ever guessed that something so innocuous as a line of paint could be such a threat to the success of an entire city! What’s worse is that while the rest of the world is penny pinching in this disastrous recession, our Toronto Mayor is spending like a drunken sailor and supporting this reckless spending by taxing Torontonians into the poorhouse. These bike lanes are costing tax payers $70 million. Now here’s the rub: Out of the 12 months of the year, there’s maybe three to four months of bicycle riding weather. The rest of the time it’s either too hot and humid, too wet and rainy, or to cold and snowy. Another huge irony is that while our Mayor and his sycophant left-wing lapdogs are busy destroying the infrastructure in their war on cars, our provincial government is handing out grant money to car companies to produce electric cars, and more money to encourage consumers to buy them. The GM Volt is expected to get 230 miles a gallon. In five to ten years I think we’ll see a huge resurgence of the mighty car, one that is environmentally friendly, small, and inexpensive to operate, and everyone’s going to be driving them. In those same years, however, if Mayor Miller gets his way, the state of disrepair of our roads and highways will be even worse than they are already, and traffic congestion will be at an all time high. What’s really frustrating is none of it is necessary. It’s all due to the delusions of one man and his small club at Silly Hall. Nice job, Mayor. We’ll see you at the next election. Don’t let the door his your arse on the way out. Oh, and be sure to take Councilor Adam Vaughn with you.

By the way, I spent an hour at this location on a Sunday early afternoon and did not see one single bicycle in either direction using these dedicated lanes. Oh, and for the record, I’m a big fan of bike lanes, but only in cities that are not buried under ice and snow half the year and sweltering under oppressive humidity during the summer months (this summer being the exception).

Bet you didn’t think I could be so political, did you?   🙂   If you don’t happen to agree with me, don’t be shy about saying so. I appreciate there are always two sides to an argument and I’m a big boy and can take criticism.