The polling has indicated that Ontario hates traffic.

We all know bike lanes reduce traffic by taking cars off the road. We know these lanes reduce delays for emergency response. We know bike lanes increase commerce. We understand the mechanism by which bike lanes are genuinely effective. So, it’s not about the premise that these lanes somehow create traffic; we know they cause the opposite. The culture war starts with something else: traffic.

This culture war attempts to harness the emotion of being stuck in traffic, then redirect that strong feeling into votes for Ford’s party (in what we can only assume is an upcoming election). But understand that its roots are not with bike lanes; the core of this emotion is the traffic itself and the feeling it creates.

I know this mindset; I’ve been traffic myself. Becoming traffic is an act of self loathing. To hate traffic while actually being traffic is to hate oneself. This is very uncomfortable. Understand how good it feels to be absolved from that horrible self-hate. Ford is giving these people the narrative by which they may forgive themselves for being traffic. This is profound and extremely valuable. Blame bike lanes - not yourself.

We know facts will not prevail in this argument. This culture war is an act of virtue signalling. Ford is showing who he protects even though this policy actually increases the pain of traffic. Ford is showing who he opposes. This isn’t about bike lanes and it isn’t about solving traffic.

There is at least one way forward. The traffic is the pain. The OPC have said so - and they are right. Either the pain gets worse or it gets better.

However, the temperature in Toronto is rising and there is road rage everywhere. We unironically talk about the next cyclist to die. The rage felt on the road is real. Ford is simultaneously increasing the rage while also seeking to capture that rage and funnel it into voter support. It’s equal parts cynical and diabolical. I think “traffic” is an exceptionally powerful construct in Ontario for the emotion it evokes.

I don’t believe this culture war can be won with evidence; it is a battle for emotion. The manifest problem is the traffic and the outcome is anger.

I think the “solution” to traffic is the domain of government. It’s on the government to finalize the LRTs, increase mass transit bandwidth, and transform car trips into anything else. Government has the budget and the authority. What happens when government is hostile? What if the government actually wants traffic - for some reason? Then the solution is not with government.

Can a grass-roots effort “solve” traffic? I do not believe so. There is neither the budget nor the mandate.

All that is left is the anger - and this is not the domain of government. This culture war is about anger and Ford seeks to draw power from this anger. The only way to disarm the culture war is to address the anger that comes from experiencing traffic. I’ll admit I don’t know how - but the answer must be love.