[Article] Ontario planning experts slam Ford's war on bike lanes
[Article] Ontario planning experts slam Ford's war on bike lanes
Opposition continues to pour in over Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s fight against bike lanes. The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI), with over 5,000 members, sent a letter to the government opposing new legislation that could remove bike lanes in Toronto or any other municipality.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/33453283
Basinski said space for bike lanes should not be viewed as contributing to congestion. “One lane of mixed traffic can move up to 2,000 passengers per hour in optimal conditions. However, a dedicated bike lane can move up to 12,000 passengers per hour,” the letter reads.
”What problem is this (the proposed legislation) actually solving?” Basinski said. “If anything, it seems to move us backward, away from the common goal of creating complete, livable and sustainable communities that are accessible to all Ontarians, regardless of where they live.”
The City of Toronto estimates the cost to taxpayers for removing these bike lanes could reach $48 million, with the city already investing $27 million in their construction. Restoring vehicle lanes will likely offer minimal improvements in travel time and undermine the public health, environmental and economic benefits of active transportation, the report warns.
Do the planning experts also call out how nearly every part of the associatiated bill will actually achieve the oposite of its goals? No amount of additional highways will end gridlock in such dense cities, we need alternatives that are not just more lanes. The idea is so bad the law if passed will pretty much make it impossible to stop them from building hwy 413. If the idea was a good solution, you wouldn't need to write into law that no one can stop you.
This law could set ontario back by decades. We are already decades behind on transit, mobility, and housing. This law would just make things worse while also extending the climate crisis, the housing crisis, and increasing municipal roadway maintaince and construction costs, while they already cannot afford to maintain their exisiting roads and sprawl. There will be a wave of roadway expansions and additional lanes to roads this highway leads to.
Its like we are trying to build the worst country we can and we keep pretending the 50s was peak civilization. We ignore legitmate studies about induced demand. We make it impossible to build housing that isn't single family homes. We hold no accountability to a politician involved in a multi billion dollar land scandal.