As a resident of Ontario,…

As a resident of Ontario, born in Ottawa and raised in Whitby, and currently living in the downtown core of Toronto for 3 years, I am very aware of Toronto’s traffic congestion and would very much like to be able to get where I am going as efficiently and safely as possible. This extends not only to the downtown core but also to the surrounding suburbs and cities where many of my family and friends live.

I believe that the Conservative Party’s plan will not only make the traffic worse but also will take power away from all the residents of Ontario by not allowing us to decide what is best for our own communities and adding more bureaucracy through the province.

The obvious issue with this plan is that of induced demand. By designing and expanding the cities transportation network specifically for cars as it currently is, more residents of Toronto and commuters from surrounding suburbs and cities will see driving as the most efficient means of travel. By adding more car infrastructure the provincial government is taking away the ability for the residents like myself who take other means of transportation and demanding through design that I take a car for my travel. This will then add more cars onto already congested routes, making the issue worse as many parts of Toronto’s streets are too narrow to expand due to buildings containing housing and businesses.

If the provincial government were serious about reducing traffic, the objective would be to reduce the number of cars on these congested streets, not to add more, and to give alternative routes of transportation to people, like walking paths, public transit lanes, dependable and frequent regional transit, and specifically bike lanes.

The Conservative party claims to want to reduce the cost of living for working people like myself, but if driving a car becomes the only safe and practical way for me to travel through the city I will have to buy a car, pay for insurance, maintenance, fuel, and parking, which will astronomically raise my cost of living and may price me out of the city. I am far more able, and would much rather, pay for efficient public transit and the purchase and maintenance of a bicycle.

There are no bike lanes on the Gardiner Expressway, and it is congested. There are no bike lanes on the Don Valley Parkway, and it is congested. There are 16 lanes on the 401, all are for cars, and no bikes, and it is congested. Maybe the cause of congestion is cars and not bikes.

This proposal is anti democratic, counterproductive, hypocritical of the parties claimed beliefs, and clearly a power grab.

I obviously do not support this proposal.