Dear Editor:
It is heartening that so many in our community see the need to support bike infrastructure. Even the petitioners against the St. David St. bike lanes acknowledge the need to support active transportation. I understand their frustration of not feeling like they have been heard.
However, what is being missed in this discussion are the voices of future residents, children, people who can not afford or do not want to own a car, and people with mobility issues. If a member of my own household was in a wheelchair I would not hesitate to build a ramp up the front step of our home. We must think with such empathy when talking about township projects.
So the question is, do all residents of Centre Wellington deserve equal access to actively move safely through their community? There are people living in apartment buildings north on St. David St. and the only reasonable access to the downtown is via this street. A completed route that connects the downtown to its outskirts will not happen overnight, but it is part of the incremental building plan of the Township of Centre Wellington.
Building infrastructure in this manner keeps our tax burden low, but it also builds towards a future that will benefit community members not yet here. It is like that old adage about the best time to plant a tree: 50 years ago, but the next best time is now!
John Scott,
Elora