highways – mackaycartoons

Saturday February 17, 2024

February 17, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 17, 2024

Prioritizing Populism Over Progress: The Tolling Truth

February 2, 2023

Premier Doug Ford’s recent decisions to halt rate increases for drivers’ licenses and ban tolls on provincial highways, while simultaneously eliminating license plate renewal fees, may seem like a gesture towards easing the financial burden on Ontarians. However, a closer examination reveals a perplexing strategy that sacrifices much-needed revenue for essential provincial improvements.

In the face of rising living costs, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria justified these moves by claiming they shield families from additional fees. While this may resonate with voters, the reality is that these decisions come at the expense of crucial infrastructure funding, leaving the province’s responsibilities in a state of neglect.

The ban on tolls, especially on major highways like the DVP and Gardiner Expressway, is a populist move with short-term appeal. However, it ignores the fact that tolls serve as a vital source of revenue for necessary improvements to roads, bridges, and public services. By eliminating this revenue stream, the government is essentially closing the door on funding opportunities that could address the province’s pressing needs.

Opinion: Doug Ford government to ban most highway tolls, freeze driver’s licence fees and eliminate plate registration

February 19, 2020

Moreover, the decision to automate license plate renewals and eliminate fees may seem convenient, but it disregards the significant revenue loss of over $1 billion annually. This revenue could be instrumental in addressing the backlog of necessary projects and improvements that have been put on hold due to financial constraints.

The argument that these decisions were key factors in the Tories’ re-election in 2022 underscores the prioritization of political gain over the well-being of the province. While freezing license renewal fees may provide short-term relief for drivers, it comes at a substantial cost to the broader community, limiting the government’s ability to invest in critical infrastructure and services.

April 3, 2019

The soaring number of expired license plates and increased charges for driving without valid permits underscore the unintended consequences of these decisions. The attempt to win votes by avoiding tolls and fees results in a compromised infrastructure and public services, negatively impacting the very citizens the government aims to protect.

Doug Ford’s focus on shielding Ontarians from additional costs may be politically expedient, but it comes at the expense of the province’s long-term health. Prioritizing populism over progress is a shortsighted strategy that jeopardizes the very improvements and services that citizens rely on for a better quality of life. It’s time to reconsider the tolling truth and ensure that the province’s financial decisions align with the needs of its residents. (AI)

Wednesday January 18, 2017

January 17, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 18, 2017

Funds must double to keep Hamilton roads at ‘C’ level: report

The city needs to double asphalt repair spending over the next decade just to keep increasingly rutted roads in fair shape, a new analysis shows.

As it is, municipal road conditions — particularly neighbourhood streets and urban collectors — are deteriorating steadily because the city budget isn’t keeping up with needed repairs, says public works head Dan McKinnon.

“We’re not sustainable … We know the overall condition rating is going to decline,” McKinnon said during a presentation to councillors on the city’s latest road condition analysis.

That report suggests Hamilton must spend about $521 million on repairs and reconstruction over the next 10 years just to hold the line on existing road conditions. We’re on track to spend only half that amount, with about $25.5-million slated to be directed to such repairs in 2017.

The city actually spends closer to $80 million a year on all things roads-related — but that includes bridges, sidewalks and street lights, traffic engineering, technical studies and construction related to new development.

The city bases its latest dire prediction on a roads condition index calculated with the help of a consultant who used ground-penetrating laser technology and visual inspections to evaluate all municipal roads block by block.

Based on the latest study, the city has awarded itself a “C” grade for roads — defined as “fair with some deterioration or defects evident” — or an average condition index of 62.

The “optimum” target condition index for roads is 81. While the city’s two parkways are close to that target level of driveability, residential streets and urban collectors have an average condition index closer to 58.

The latest public report doesn’t finger particularly bad roads or neighbourhoods, but a photo presentation to councillors used a spiderweb-cracked section of Chapple Street in Stoney Creek to illustrate a road in need of a rebuild. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Doubled Published – Oopsie.

Published in the Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland – January

Published in the Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland – January 20, 2017

Friday May 1, 2015

April 30, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 1, 2015

Ontario’s winter roads ‘less safe’ since privatization: auditor

Ontario saved millions but put lives in jeopardy by contracting out highway snow clearing and other winter road maintenance with poor oversight, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says in a damning new report.

“In the past, highways were cleared much faster,” the auditor told reporters Wednesday, noting that “preliminary results show an increase in the number of deaths on Ontario highways in 2013 where snow, slush or ice was a factor.”

It’s taking twice as long to clear highways to bare pavement after storms than it did five years ago under a new system of “performance-based” contracts with specified service levels and no more on-the-road supervision by Ministry of Transportation staff.

Lysyk said she was stunned to find the Liberal government kept awarding the contracts despite warnings from Ministry of Transportation engineers that many low bidders didn’t have enough equipment to do the job properly.

In one startling case a year ago, an unnamed northern Ontario contractor refused to clear winter roads at one point and was fined for poor performance following an audit prompted by a pileup of 14 tractor trailers that forced an extensive highway closure.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca refused to apologize for the problems but said that “there’s no doubt there needs to be improvements. I will get this right.”

Del Duca said 105 pieces of snow removal, de-icing, salting and sanding equipment have been added in the past year and 20 inspectors added to keep better track of contractors, with whom he will meet in the coming weeks. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday May 30, 2003

May 30, 2003 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 30, 2003

Mid-pen concerns deserve a response

There’s little doubt that the province has been ham-handed and insensitive in its plans for a mid-peninsula highway. While we believe the so-called “mid-pen” is needed and important to relieving serious highway congestion in the Niagara Peninsula, we have sympathy for Burlington, which prides itself on careful planning and smart growth, only to see a highway rammed through its protected rural area.

Burlington was brought into the process after Niagara region and Hamilton had been consulted, and had virtually signed off on the proposal.

Burlington has one of the most carefully managed planning and growth strategies of any municipality in Ontario. But it is likely where the mid-pen would dump its traffic load onto the QEW and highways 403 and 407. To make those connections, it would have to cross the Niagara Escarpment.

The province has identified several options to bring the eastern terminus of the mid-pen down to existing highways, including Highway 403 between Mohawk and Aberdeen/Main Street East, and Highway 6 south of Clappison’s Cut. But few people see those as anything but decoys; the smart money is on what the province calls “Option C” — crossing the escarpment in rural north Burlington.

That was made even more unpalatable to Burlington by the province setting short timelines for response to its 179-page draft terms of reference, which includes its route options. (Source: COPE)

Thursday July 23, 1998

July 23, 1998 by Graeme MacKay

July 23, 1998

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 23, 1998

People first in downtown

There is no silver bullet to solve the problems plaguing downtown Hamilton. Revitalizing the city core depends on a host of small solutions, including solving the problem of traffic arteries that serve as one-way mini-expressways to speed commuters through the heart of the city. A new study outlining ways to convert one-way streets to two-way is a welcome starting point in creating a downtown that serves pedestrians and businesses first, rather than cars and trucks.

Two-way streets are a bold, controversial concept in a city that has successfully employed a one-way road system in the absence of a major cross-town expressway below the escarpment. But the idea shouldn’t automatically be dismissed as impractical. The community should keep an open mind about radical methods of transforming the downtown core.

Research on the merits and drawbacks of two-way streets is a prerequisite. Many other steps are needed — such as cheaper and more convenient parking, wider sidewalks and more commercial and residential development — regardless of whether two-way streets become a reality. But at minimum, this new study moves downtown planning ahead with preliminary suggestions for more two-way streets.

Some key proposals include converting King and Main to two-way streets from Paradise Road to the Delta; making Cannon and Wilson two-way; and reconstructing and widening Cannon to become an extension of York Boulevard. The Cannon proposal is a substitute for the Perimeter Road, linking Burlington Street to Highway 403. Costing an estimated $250 million or more, the Perimeter Road is currently too expensive for regional taxpayers. But it would be the best route. The region should try to find funding partners for the project.

We have concerns about rebuilding Cannon Street. While cheaper than the initial phase of the Perimeter Road as far as Bay Street, the Cannon proposal would disrupt homes and businesses.

The study — and possible alternative routes — deserve more public meetings. Regional council should continue to get advice from many quarters, including the newly-formed downtown partnership. Two pilot projec ts deserve support. One proposal, converting Bay Street from Main to Cannon to two-way operation, may potentially better connect the rejuvenated bayfront with downtown. A second idea, reducing the number of lanes on King Street, from James to Bay, would allow experiments in parking and more space for pedestrians.

Leadership is needed to find ways of reconciling a vibrant downtown with the traditional mobility that Hamiltonians have enjoyed. A green light for the pilot projects will allow everyone to see where two-way streets fit into a healthier, prosperous downtown. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial, A8, 7/23/1998)