And by removing road capacity, the 99% of us for which cycling is not an option is stuck on alternate routes in gridlock, contributing more air pollution..
Why do opponents of these sorts of projects never give any credibility to traffic studies carried out by professionals? There's no way removing the centre lane will cause gridlock. Your drive will be two minutes longer -- probably less.
But the thinking of the City is to make driving as difficult as possible without providing an alternative, and when an alternative is proposed (Yonge Subway to Richmond Hill), a lot of people here are dead against it.
What does the extension to Richmond Hill have to do with Jarvis street? Do a lot of people from Richmond Hill use Jarvis street every day?
For many of us, cars are a fact of life and are a necessary evil. (btw, I take transit, but do own a car)
Me too. And I often use the centre lane on Jarvis street. I still want it to go away.
I find it quite ironic the thinking around here where people have no problem paying more property tax to pay for the waste and excess at city hall (BTW, Markham is able to avoid a tax increase by cutting waste at City Hall) but are up in arms when an idea such as cyclists paying to use the roads come up.
You can't compare Markham to Toronto. Toronto is in an entirely different universe when you look at the level of services it needs to provide to its residents. Markham covered its budget shortfall by raising parking fines (from $5!), raising overdue book fees at the library and banking on developer money.
And, hell, Markham has way higher property taxes than Toronto does to begin with.
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Does anyone else hate terms like "Motorist", "Cyclist", "Pedestrian", etc? It implies a weird kind of singularity to getting from place-to-place. "How do you get around?" "Oh, I'm a motorist." It's too binary.
The reality is that the vast majority of people use all sorts of transportation in this city. I walk, I take transit, I drive and I'd really like to cycle more. I doubt I'd ever cycle to work (I'd have to be in much better shape, for one thing) but It'd be fun to bike around various neighbourhoods in the warmer weather. Bike lanes would be a great motivator for me.
I guess what I'm getting at is that it's important to remember that the city doesn't build bike paths just to cater to angry dudes with shaved legs and spandex who piss everyone off when they blow through stop signs. They build bike lanes to support a healthy way of moving around the city -- it's not just about commuting, it's about recreation.
with the landlord absorbing that cost. (is it any wonder why so many rental buildings are in disrepair)
