Drivers hitting the brake lights on westbound vehicles on the 401 near Don Mills Road as they come upon rush hour gridlock, on Oct. 15.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Just do it?
Re “Three steps to replace an America-sized hole in the free world” (Opinion, Nov. 9): Some compelling proposals for how Canada can fill the void left by America’s ostensible departure from the global democratic sphere. However, effectively implementing these suggestions may prove next to impossible.
For example, given the divergent positions taken by Canada’s political parties on a wide variety of issues, how likely is it that we will “get our own houses in order“ and establish a cohesive and unified government? How probable is it that Canada, along with other democracies, will be able to effectively collaborate on arms spending for Ukraine, to compensate for a possible withdrawal of U.S. support?
Very rational advice, but its practicality may be in question.
Robert Barclay Sudbury
Still stuck
Re “Doug Ford’s plan to rip up Toronto bike lanes is a dangerous political stunt” (Nov. 13): I don’t know why more people have not questioned the Ford government’s bike-use statistic of 1.2 per cent. It is clear to me that number includes the Greater Toronto Area and further north.
But accuracy does not seem important at Queen’s Park these days and people, as we see south of us, tend to believe what they want to believe, even if it is not in their best interests.
When 63 per cent of staff at Mount Sinai Hospital bike to work and use bike lanes on University Avenue, when Bike Share Toronto is thriving, even in this climate, it seems obvious that bike lanes are important and essential for safety.
Margaret van Dijk Toronto
Re “Toronto traffic doesn’t just seem worse, it is worse – and data shows these major bottlenecks are to blame” (Nov. 12): Is Doug Ford listening? Toronto’s traffic issues are construction projects closing lanes and lack of transit, not bike lanes.
Don’t waste taxpayer dollars to remove them.
Debra Moy Mississauga
The projected $48-million of tax money needed to bulldoze over municipal policy and remove bike lanes would come out of our communities.
Are we, regardless of political stripe, content to let the provincial government deprive us of better health care and other critical services? The removal of bike lanes would endanger the lives of cyclists and the entire province would find critical funding lacking.
All of us would see democratic principles being chipped away while this government refuses to review all available data or debate the matter. And there will still be congestion, for we cannot apply suburban ideals to an urban environment.
Unless we are willing to give unchecked power to the provincial government, please contact them urgently and raise our voices – while we still have them.
Sarah Christie Toronto
While your independent research doesn’t point to bike lanes as being a significant contributor to traffic congestion, I find it a fallacy to compare Toronto to what London and Paris are doing.
Toronto has a different climate and, more importantly, unreliable public transportation infrastructure vis à vis those two cities. Toronto’s problem seems to be trying to emulate somewhere it is not, namely Europe, when it is decidedly a North American, car-centric city.
How about comparing Toronto to what Montreal and Chicago are doing to provide for (electric) bike lanes instead? Both would be more reasonable comparisons.
Paul Lechtzier Toronto
Toronto’s subways haven’t kept pace with the scale and locations of growth in the Greater Toronto Area over the past 50 or so years.
Some years ago I met Andy Byford, who was then head of the Toronto Transit Commission. He told me that the city should have been building one subway stop a year for many years.
If we aspire to be a world-class city, we should be prepared to invest in a world-class subway system. Many other subway systems around the world, I’m sorry to say, put ours to shame.
We should find a way to spread the cost of building this infrastructure between the public and private sectors, so that Toronto can truly solve one of the root drivers of its commuting problem.
John Garofano Oakville, Ont.
We live 1.5 blocks from the still-unfinished Eglinton LRT. Our car would not be on the road if the LRT was open and running.
It’s time.
Barbara Ross Toronto
I’ve been driving the Queen Elizabeth Way-Highway 403 corridor for more than 50 years. The past five years feel like the worst.
If I could easily get from downtown Hamilton to the end of the Bloor subway line in Toronto, I would stop using my car. The lack of public transit is a key factor in our gridlock.
No less important are all the aggressive drivers. Tailgating to push cars out of the way, weaving from lane to lane, speeding, using the passing lane ineffectively: These behaviours often lead to collisions. That, combined with the snail’s pace of road construction, with some projects going for years, means that we can’t get around.
Bring on more cameras and penalties to enforce the rules.
Carol Town Hamilton
If only I knew where Exit 385 and Exit 383 were off Highway 401, I would try and avoid the bottlenecks there. Next time, please name the streets, not the exit numbers.
Lyn Labenski Oakville, Ont.
Coast to coast to coast
Re “Stay tuned” (Letters, Nov. 9): Thanks to a letter-writer for pointing out the critical importance of the CBC to all Canadians. The thought of losing it terrifies me.
When Michael Enright left The Sunday Edition on CBC Radio in 2020, he had a final phone-in. I called and asked whether he thought the lack of a trusted national broadcaster in the United States has contributed to the fractionalization and social upheaval we see south of the border. I can’t help thinking how different the U.S. election results might have been had such a broadcaster been in place.
The CBC is important in holding this country together with a reporting system that is honest and trusted. It explains, through interviews and reports, the social and environmental turmoil we are embroiled in globally, as well as the avenues of hope available by providing the insights of people such as Murray Sinclair, who have made such a difference.
Barbara Heidenreich Otonabee-South Monaghan, Ont.
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com