Hi there, I sincerely hope…

Hi there,

I sincerely hope that you will reconsider Bill 212 due to it's inevitable ineffectiveness and unjustifiable cost. If we look at our own history, despite having one of the largest highways in North America (the 401), Toronto still has an extreme amount of traffic congestion even when compared to other cities with larger and denser populations. This result of induced demand means that any actions to widen highways or create new highways will inevitably result in more traffic. Additionally according to research commissioned by Environmental Defence, Highway 413 would cause over 17 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions by 2050. Highway 413 will also damage and disrupt the ecology in the area.

If the goal of this bill is to reduce gridlock and save citizens' time, a better idea would be to invest in alternatives to driving. Investing in smart public transit projects could be extremely beneficial to the region. Investing is safe cycling infrastructure would also be beneficial in reducing car traffic and moving people more sustainably and efficiently. For every person who does not need to drive anymore (because it has been made easier and faster for them to take an alternative method) there is one less car on the road, thereby reducing gridlock. If its faster to not drive to work (because of good transit and bike infrastructure) a significant number of people will take this option instead. This method of planning cities has been proven to be effective by plenty of others across the globe and even in some select parts of Toronto. Additionally, this method is beneficial to a much larger portion of citizens, especially those who do not have the privilege of owning a vehicle or the desire and ability to drive.

I hope that we can learn from other cities around the world while taking notes from our own history in order to create policies that can effectively help all of our citizens. As such, I implore you to reconsider Bill 212 and instead work on a plan that reduces traffic by offering alternative solutions.