FIX IT FIRST

CLOSING SHOT
FIX IT FIRST
by Peter Miasek
ESPITE SIGNIFICANT REVERSALS to many of its land development policies and a 2022 Auditor General report
questioning its highway prioritization methods, the
Ontario government continues to double down on
its signature transportation project—Highway 413.
This proposed 59-kilmetre toll-free expressway is
planned to run between Highways 400 and 401 through the
western Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Estimated costs are
$6-$10 billion.
The highway is touted as relieving gridlock, although
this ignores induced travel, a proven urban phenomenon
where newly constructed non-tolled highways soon 昀椀ll up,
eliminating any travel time savings. The province also cites
bene昀椀ts to logistics (goods movement by trucks) and the
number of jobs created. However, any large investment, be
it public transit, hospitals, schools etc. would create similar
or more jobs.
Opponents decry the highway as inducing sprawl and car
dependency, consuming valuable agricultural land, paving
over portions of the Greenbelt, and causing environmental
damage. A federal impact assessment will focus on species
protection, biodiversity, and climate change.
There are better approaches.
For the movement of people, rapid transit is a better
choice, as it can move many more people for less money.
There are several worthwhile transit projects in the western
GTA that need funding. A 2019 report by Environmental
Defence, Transport Action Ontario and Sustainable Vaughan
entitled Is Building Highway 413 the Best Option? Found that
a collection of proposed GO Transit and BRT/LRT projects
in Brampton would cost less ($7.3B) and move more people
per hour at peak times (22,000-29,000 vs. 7,000).
Beyond the cost-e昀昀ectiveness of rapid transit in terms of
people moved, transit has positive impacts compared to the
carbon emissions of vehicles and the auto-centric communities that would be built around a new highway.
Giving truckers a discount and priority features on
both Highway 407 ETR, a privately-operated toll highway,
and 407 East (toll highway operated by the province) is a
promising idea. This concept was recommended in 2018 by
an advisory panel appointed by the previous government to
achieve more e昀케cient goods movement. In 2021, Transport
Action Ontario calculated that about 21,000 trucks/day
would move from the congested Highway 401 to the 407.
The costs of providing a toll subsidy for these trucks during
busy periods were less than half the cost of constructing and
maintaining Highway 413. As a bypass, the 407 corridor also
o昀昀ers a more direct route and, post-pandemic, remains an
underutilized highway asset that can accommodate thousands more vehicles.
This earlier work was validated in 2023 by Eunomia, a
consultant commissioned by Environmental Defence. That
report also reviewed the positions of many supportive
stakeholders, including:
• A senior sta昀昀 member of the Ontario Good Roads Association wrote an article which expressed concern about
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RENEW CANADA – MARCH/APRIL 2024
Beyond the cost-effectiveness of rapid transit in terms
of people moved, transit has positive impacts compared
to the carbon emissions of vehicles and the auto-centric
communities that would be built around a new highway.
the Highway 413 project, including the high 昀椀nancial cost,
environmental impacts, e昀昀ects of induced tra昀케c demand
and the encouragement of sprawl development. Instead,
they recommended the “use of the currently underutilized
Highway 407 as well as more funding for maintenance of
existing assets (昀椀x it 昀椀rst).”
• A representative of the Private Motor Truck Council of
Canada stated, “while new infrastructure is needed, increasing the number of lanes and building new highways will not
昀椀x it alone.” He supported “using the vastly underutilized
already-existing Highway 407 and subsidizing 407 uses for
trucks to divert through tra昀케c from Highway 401 and emphasized that “we need better utilization of what we have.”
We concur. Highway 413 should be cancelled, and the
funding directed to more transit and to improving and
maintaining existing road assets.
GETTY IMAGES
Peter Miasek is the
president of Transport
Action Ontario.
RENEWCANADA.NET

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