In a letter to the Ministry of Transportation and the consultant project manager, Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong has indicated his opposition to the proposed Highway 24 transportation corridor.
While Chong acknowledged the challenge facing the Ontario government in planning the growth of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, he cited environmental concerns in his opposition.
In his letter to the MTO and the consultant pro ject manager, Chong said, “Building new highways, or expanding existing ones, will only encourage greater use of the automobile resulting in even greater greenhouse gas emissions. This is contrary to obligations we have under the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty of which we remain a signatory and under which we have obligations. It also counters the commitment we have made to reduce greenhouse gases, both as a nation and as a province.”
Chong added, “We’ve got to stop the urban sprawl that has characterized our growth in southern Ontario over the last 30 years. Building or expanding highways is just more of the same. More reliance on the automobile, more urban sprawl and more environmental degradation. This approach is not sustainable – not from an environmental perspective, not from an economic perspective.
“The money for Highway 24 would be much better spent on public transit, like extending GO service to Guelph and Waterloo Region.”
Chong had additional reasons for his opposition to the transportation corridor.
“As has been proven time and time again, building new highways or expanding existing ones will not long relieve the congestion on our roadways,” he wrote.
“Third, the rich agricultural heritage of our region, so vital to Guelph and Wellington County, is under threat and this proposed Highway 24 transportation corridor will only further the erosion of this agricultural heritage and our agricultural lands.”
Finally, he said, big new roads are not providing solutions to transportation problems.
“Monies that might be spent on this project would be much better utilized on public transit initiatives. For these and other reasons, I believe that the proposed Highway 24 transportation corridor should not proceed.”
