Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph

[ijmorlan]

Do you think Toronto would be Toronto without the Gardiner?

No, I think Toronto would be so much better without the Gardiner. If you look at the stats for how people arrive into downtown Toronto it's responsible for such a small fraction, but it divides downtown Toronto in two and cuts it off from the waterfront. Downtown Toronto could be so much more walkable if we got rid of the Gardiner.

I agree the Gardiner is not a good poster child for “we need roads”. As you point out, the tiny amount of traffic on the Gardiner in no way justifies the expense or the effect on the surrounding areas of the city.

It would be a better argument to refer to the suburban freeway network. As it stands, trucking and therefore logistics and supply chains would collapse if the 4xx highways disappeared. Even there, we’re arguing about what could be, and what could be is a lot more freight rail, and electrified for an even better result. But at least those highways are actually essential to the current way the economy operates. The Gardiner is not.