Why we keep trying to build more highways to alleviate congestion is beyond me.
Its an idea that has been consistently and thoroughly debunked since the 80s. No one who studies traffic has ever suggested highway upsizing to decrease congestion as anything more than a very temporary stop gap. Single or dual occupancy vehicles cannot continue to be the primary way we commute to work in a dense area like Toronto. It simply will not work, full stop. We can fight against the idea, but we’re wasting our time and money.
We need high density solutions. TTC line 1 was built in the 50s. Line 2 in the 60s, which comprise 64km of the current 70km in use. Line 3 was added in the 80s, but has been decommissioned due to maintenance costs and poor performance, but even that was only 6km. Why have we barely expanded the system since the city consisted of 30% of the current population?
We used to have more rail lines running throughout the province, mostly privately owned. They have since been discontinued with the advent of trucking. Why have we not reintroduced rail service? Canada as a whole is low population density, but the Niagara-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor has more than enough people to justify a regular rail line.
The Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 are an estimated 8-10$ billion, on the low end. Combine with his current proposed cuts to transit funding of ~$150 million, and it paints a clear picture of his priorities.
Roads are like computers - it doesn’t matter how much speed, memory or disk space you have - you’ll eventually consume it all as the Operating System bloats and the ability to create massive files increases.
Given that #bigoil needs consumers of their product, I’d be really surprised if the ‘we need more roads’ #government ‘solution’ goes away any time soon. 😞
Why we keep trying to build more highways to alleviate congestion is beyond me.
Its an idea that has been consistently and thoroughly debunked since the 80s. No one who studies traffic has ever suggested highway upsizing to decrease congestion as anything more than a very temporary stop gap. Single or dual occupancy vehicles cannot continue to be the primary way we commute to work in a dense area like Toronto. It simply will not work, full stop. We can fight against the idea, but we’re wasting our time and money.
We need high density solutions. TTC line 1 was built in the 50s. Line 2 in the 60s, which comprise 64km of the current 70km in use. Line 3 was added in the 80s, but has been decommissioned due to maintenance costs and poor performance, but even that was only 6km. Why have we barely expanded the system since the city consisted of 30% of the current population?
We used to have more rail lines running throughout the province, mostly privately owned. They have since been discontinued with the advent of trucking. Why have we not reintroduced rail service? Canada as a whole is low population density, but the Niagara-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor has more than enough people to justify a regular rail line.
The Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 are an estimated 8-10$ billion, on the low end. Combine with his current proposed cuts to transit funding of ~$150 million, and it paints a clear picture of his priorities.
Buying bigger pants will help me lose weight.
Reminder to people to support their local transit and cycling advocacy groups.
Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about the past. However, the current projects give me hope for the future.
@healthetank @RandAlThor
Roads are like computers - it doesn’t matter how much speed, memory or disk space you have - you’ll eventually consume it all as the Operating System bloats and the ability to create massive files increases.
Given that #bigoil needs consumers of their product, I’d be really surprised if the ‘we need more roads’ #government ‘solution’ goes away any time soon. 😞
Duh, because there are so many cars! - Every city planner in the GTA