As a resident of the City of…

As a resident of the City of Toronto (Ward 25, Scarborough Rouge Park), I am diametrically opposed to developing the protected lands that currently form part of the Greenbelt for a number of reasons (inadequate long term environmental planning; political-economic opportunism; inadequate traffic/transit planning, etc.). Specific to my residency in Toronto, I am opposed to the 'Central Pickering Development Plan' for a number of reasons. As comment space is limited, I will focus namely on traffic congestion through Ward 25 of the City of Toronto. My workplace is in York Region, and for the last 7 years my commute has become progressively more congested when driving Highway 401 westbound in the morning (or non-highway commuting to Aurora through Markham, Stouffville and Richmond Hill areas). This is also true on the commute from York Region to my home. There are frequent traffic interruptions due to too much vehicle volume, inclement weather and vehicular accidents on either of these routes, which makes the daily commute difficult. Though I could not cite a current study, the CAA commissioned a report in 2017 that I use as a basis for my concerns (see below hyperlink). By not adhering to the current Greenbelt Plan and increasing the population density of already dense urban regions, we will be bottlenecking communities in the Greater Toronto Area even worse with increases to vehicle traffic. In Scarborough West Rouge, the traffic volume is very intense on weekdays, and made worse if there are accidents on Highway 401E or Highway 401W. On a few occasions in 2022, we were unable to leave our residential street for a local appointment due to traffic bypasses from Highway 401E (i.e. Port Union Road and East Avenue were completely bottlenecked). In closing, as an Ontario resident and voter, I do not see the merits of amending the Greenbelt Plan at this time while there is a traffic congestion crisis in the Greater Toronto Area. Why are we fast tracking housing developments without also considering immediate improvements to road infrastructure and public transit through the Greater Toronto Area? Why does the current government not consider economic concessions to allow employers to encourage more remote employment (and in turn fewer vehicles) if the Greater Toronto Area will see significant increases in residential/population density by 2031? The current government needs to table ideas to make the sustainability of the environment and the commuting lives of its citizens a priority. As the CAA study suggests, there are measurable "impacts of congestion for major bottlenecks in terms of time (hours lost), monetary cost (economic opportunity cost of the lost time), and environmental effects (excess fuel consumption, total CO2 emissions)." These impacts translate into losses in the quality of life of Greater Toronto residents, the environment and the economy. This government needs to table viable solutions that will not make the future worse in the Greater Toronto Area compared to the status quo. Thank you for due consideration of this comment.