A call for updated thinking around transportation from the Spec:
The Spectator’s View: A government obsessed with highways
What’s the best way to deal with growing congestion in the Golden Horseshoe? Back in the ’50s and ’60s, the answer was simple: Build more roads. Apparently, things haven’t changed much, at least not in the mind of the Ontario government.
This week, Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli outlined the latest “highway expansion options” for the Hamilton and Halton areas. The good news is that Queen’s Park seems to be leaning away from a new superhighway cutting through Halton, up the escarpment and across to Niagara. The bad news is the province can’t see past roads. More lanes from Hamilton to St. Catharines, a new highway between Highway 406 and Fort Erie, widening Highway 6 and widening to 10 lanes or even adding a second level to Highway 403 through Hamilton.
No mention of rail. No mention of where an expanded GO might fit into taking cars off highways. Sooner or later, the government needs to recognize simply adding more highway won’t solve the problem. We need future thinking, not rear-view vision.
Howard Elliott
December 21, 2012
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