Canadians don't need more…

Canadians don't need more infrastructure for personal automobiles. What they do need is more alternatives to get people out of cars so that traffic congestion can be eased. Bike lanes are necessary urban infrastructure and are good for the local economy. It is much easier to bike up to a store than it is to drive, park and then shop. In reality, large amounts of sales are lost due to car-centric urbanism. Cars are just not well-suited to urban environments unless they are there for utility and/or business. They are certainly incompatible when the road is saturated with them. The limited space on tight urban streets is quickly filled up due to amount of area a single vehicle occupies. It is preposterous to believe that adding more lanes is going to do anything for very long, as this will simply induce demand and the new space will fill up and we will back to the same old problem, now with double the volume. We need transportation solutions that allow the largest volumes of people to be moved with as little space as possible to be prioritized. Bike infrastructure is one of those solutions and a comprehensive network of protected bike lanes will allow people of all ages to traverse the city with ease at a low cost. Investing in better public transit on top of this will also work wonders in improving travel times.

Beyond this, this act will save no one time. Highway 413 is going to be a colossal waste of taxpayer money. What Premier Ford should do is right the wrongs of his predessors and buy the 407 back for drivers or do whatever is necessary to reduce or outright eliminate tolls. The 407 is underutilized during most of the day and sits fully built and ready to accept traffic. It is my understanding that congestion is costing Canadians 10 Billion dollars annually which means that we need a solution as soon as possible. The 407 will allow for instant traffic relief on the 401 and other major highways. The Bradford Bypass is a slightly better idea but I believe it is still flawed. The 407 would effectively do the same job as the Bradford Bypass, again, already built and ready with large capacity.

Premier Ford, your bill is self-serving to yourself and those who would benefit from its implementation. But it does not benefit most Canadians. It is going to cost them a lot of money for little, of any gain. And in the case of bike infrastructure, it is going to cause many deaths that could have been avoided. Someone's cherished family member will be killed by this bill. Stop pretending Premier. This is not going to save us time or money. It is just going to cost us our tax dollars and our loved ones. I urge you to hire urban planners and those who understand how to build loveable, livable, enviable cities.

I know you stand to gain a lot from this bill but it's going to hurt your fellow countrymen and women. You can still make the right choice and drop this bill. Say no to your rich friends and go back to the drawing board. You can still gain our respect by making the tough choices no one wants to make. Buy back the 407. Invest in GO expansion to further accelerate our regional train service. Consider a GO train service between Bramalea GO and Pickering GO with transfer points and other stations along the CN corridor. And for God's sake, do not remove bike infrastructure. Add to it and watch the local economy boom. People will have more money in their pockets to spend if less of it is being spent on cars!

Ask any financial advisor: cars are a bad investment!