It’s very frustrating how…

It’s very frustrating how car centric this approach is, especially given the research on induced demand. Lane additions often have the end result of the same commute times, although it is often overlooked that this means the total throughput of cars has increased for the same commute time which is a benefit. But is this the most efficient use of tax dollars to improve commutes when taken holistically? Additionally, the extra cars ok the road are impacting the local air quality through particulate matter, ozone, and NOx emissions (see link). New bike lanes will also have induced demand where more people will bike if the lane exists. Some of these people are likely driving right now so bike lanes could have a reduction in traffic, though probably not enough to completely offset a reduction in lanes. Public transit, carpool incentives, and tolls could all be used to reduce the number of cars which would improve commutes for all remaining drivers. Not everyone can afford a car and these other methods are more efficient at moving people compared to cars that typically carry a single passenger. With passenger vehicles, many of the benefits are only for the driver but the externalities (increased traffic, noise, pollution) are felt by the entire community. I’ve lived west of the city for years and all the lane widening on the 401 just seems to move the congestion point around with commute times barely changing. This is not to say that more lanes or highway expansion should never be considered, just that it should not be the default. Would making the 401 a toll road from 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm be more effective in reducing commute times, raising money to pay for infrastructure upgrades, ensuring that the only people on the roads at peak times are people who need to be? It would be great to have a government brave enough to propose and study this. Tolls in Stockholm initially faced huge backlash but once implemented and the impacts were seen the support for the tolls increased and it was years before congestion levels returned to the pre-toll level. The costs of tolls would be somewhat offset by reduced fuel consumption while stuck in traffic and potentially reduced commute times. A pushback to this proposal would be the impact on secondary roads which may see increased traffic and the impact on lower income commuters. A demographic study of income levels of commuters may show this would be less of an impact and could be offset with some sort of rebate program. This is merely a proposed alternative that should be studied instead of just always jumping to “what would improve commute times for cars only?”
Finally, this approach to provincial oversight of bike lanes may have some justification in Toronto, but seems to be adding red tape to small and medium municipalities. Is this really necessary outside of the GTA?