I am currently a…

I am currently a construction manager and licensed Ontario Professional Engineer. My education is in Civil Engineering with a focus on transportation and construction. I have worked on a multitude of provincial (MTO), regional (GTHA), and municipal roadway, bridge, and currently transit and rail projects, and from various sides of these contracts (Owner, constructor, and consultant) in the past decade.

I find it extremely upsetting and frustrating that the Government of Ontario wants to pass Bill 212. Through my experiences, education, and unique perspective as an engineering professional involved with transportation, this bill ignores evidence-based data and common sense. Evidence-based data across Canada, and most of the world, gives credible evidence that the best way to keep society moving and growing is to provide efficient and safe transportation options for all members of society whether you are a cyclist, auto driver, or even transit rider. Instead of spending additional resources to remove bike lanes and reinstate car lanes, why not invest more money into incentivizing community members to explore other modes of transportation in order to reduce gridlock? Why not invest additional resources to accelerate the current construction of the other modes of transportation that would ease congestion? Why not look at the examples provided from other successful developed nations who have embraced progressive forms of transportation infrastructure and culture? Instead with Bill 212, we have to pause and take several steps back to undo progress, spend more taxpayer money in the process, and resort to methods that we know are all but short term solutions. Widening highways and roadways will only induce more demand and eventually worsen the traffic crisis we are currently experiencing in the GTHA.