Links To Questions
Transportation
Question 1:
With nearly 40% of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation, what do you believe we need to do in Halton Region to move away from dependence on the automobile?
Safety
Question 2:
What would be your priorities for investments in improving street safety and connectivity for residents in your riding and Halton Region as a whole? How would you fund these priorities?
Transportation
Question 3:
What are the most important things that need to happen to accommodate increased numbers of people requiring mobility in the Region as it is expected to grow to a population of nearly 1.1 million by 2051?
Land Use
Question 4:
What changes do you foresee to land-use and zoning and how might these changes impact our ability to support current residents and enable new residents to live, work and play in Halton Region?
Question 1
With nearly 40% of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation, what do you believe we need to do in Halton Region to move away from dependence on the automobile?
Burlington, NDP, Andrew Drummond
Tags: Funding, Transit
Emissions from transportation have seen unparalleled growth in Ontario. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have failed to capitalize on new opportunities for Ontario’s hardworking auto sector, investing too little too late in the green vehicles of the future. They’ve chronically underinvested in efficient infrastructure, reliable public transit and intercity transit.
An NDP government recognizes the incredible contributions of our autoworkers and we’re committed to supporting them in skills development and in securing employment as we adapt to a greener industry. We understand the need for efficient and better connected public transit and intercity transit options, and we’ll make the necessary investments to support Ontarians and Ontario municipalities.
We will also restore provincial funding for municipal public transit and paratransit systems to 50 per cent of their net operating costs – a funding boost that will immediately improve service in communities across the province. We’ll work with municipalities to improve service, reduce wait times and make municipal transit systems more affordable.
Milton, Liberal Party, Sameera Ali
Tags: Funding, Transit
Moving towards a more transit friendly community building is the KEY solution to this issue.
Ontario liberals are offering buck a ride, a $1 transit ticket for all transit in Ontario. The fare reduction would apply to every transit system in Ontario, including municipal transit, all GO Transit services, and Ontario Northland service – with the provincial government fully replacing transit systems’ lost revenue, ensuring no municipal government is impacted by this decision.
Burlington, Geen Party, Kyle Hutton
Tags: Funding, Transit, Electrification, Cycling, Wlaking, Land Use
The Ontario Greens and I are committed to making public transit a more accessible option for Halton residents going forward through a number of targeted investments and programs, such as dedicated bus lanes for commuters into Toronto and expanded GO service. These expanded services would be done alongside an electrification plan to reduce emissions from transportation, in line with our Net Zero by 2045 Carbon Budget plan.
Yet the core of the issue is that our cities are built for cars, not people – you can see it in the layout of our streets, the incremental road adaptions made to accommodate bikes and pedestrians, and the large parking lots that take up far too much space around our cities. In the long term, Greens want to fix our zoning and planning processes to create denser, accessible, and walkable 15-minute neighbourhoods where people don’t need to jump into a car to get to basic needs, such as grocery shopping, school, or even work.
Oakville, Liberal Party, Alison Gohel
Tags: Funding, Transit, Cycling, Walking, Driving
I am a firm believer that if Ontarians are to tackle the ongoing and worsening climate crisis head-on, we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions coming from our transportation. This is why, if elected, an Ontario Liberal government would slash transit fees to $1 per ride province-wide. Not only would this encourage Ontarians to use public transportation and remove roughly 400,000 cars off our roads, it would also save Oakville residents commuting to and from Union Station every day roughly $250 per month. Furthermore, an Ontario Liberal government would scrap Doug Ford's wasteful Highway 413, which would cost Ontarians $10 billion and only shave an average of 30 seconds off commutes. We want people to get around in active ways that don’t pollute, and we want to make it more affordable and safer to bike, walk and drive.
Question 2
What would be your priorities for investments in improving street safety and connectivity for residents in your riding and Halton Region as a whole? How would you fund these priorities?
Burlington, NDP, Andrew Drummond
Tags: Vision Zero
Street safety, in particular for cyclists and pedestrians, has been a growing concern in Ontario. We see growing numbers of horrific news stories of people injured or killed in traffic accidents.
An NDP government would tackle this growing problem with a plan to introduce tougher safety regulations on trucks and implement a Vision Zero provincial road safety strategy to reduce deaths and injuries on Ontario’s roads to zero.
Milton, Liberal Party, Sameera Ali
Tags: Education, Enforcement
Public education, traffic studies, traffic calming tools and collaboration with enforcement agencies will improve street safety. Funding for local street safety initiatives are through municipal and regional budgets.
Burlington, Green Party, Kyle Hutton
Tags: Vision Zero, Cycling, Walking, Funding
The first step is to implement the recommendations from Vision Zero, which are basic, necessary steps to make roads safer for all users, but especially cyclists and pedestrians. Greens will also create a dedicated fund for municipalities to build protected bike lanes, and help redesign roadways to reduce speeds and hazards such as slip lanes. We also will support the need for safer, accessible pathways for seniors and people with disabilities, so every resident can enjoy traveling in our communities.
As for funding, it is simply about priorities – the Greens would rather spend funds on
implementing these programs, than billions on new highways through our farmlands that will only be a debt on our fiscal and carbon budgets going forward.
Oakville, Liberal Party, Alison Gohel
Tags: Transit, Walking, Driving, Funding, Cycling, Vision Zero, Enforcement
Here in Oakville, the Kerr Street Underpass project is an important step in improving street safety and connectivity. It’s an area where the Ford Conservatives and our local MPP failed to proceed with this critical infrastructure that impacts our community and the region. Our goal of introducing a two-way all-day GO service will inevitably lead to higher rail traffic and urban growth that necessitate the Kerr Street grade separation project to be completed. Ford Conservatives had four years to advance this project, but they failed to act timely resulting in cost overruns and ultimately cancellation of the project. The absence of grade separation may prevent urban growth and can potentially be a safety issue for pedestrians, motorists, and other road users.
In contrast, as the Oakville candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party, I am committed to working with the community to unlock the growth potential of the adjacent area by completing the Kerr Street underpass. Ontario Liberals will reinstate the Kerr Street grade separation project and work with the Town of Oakville to appropriately and fairly cover the cost of the project.
More broadly, an Ontario Liberal government will provide a 30% rebate for new electric bikes, mopeds or motorcycles up to $500. We’ll provide communities with $100 million annually to build separated bike lanes and cycling trails, expand bike sharing and rental services and secure bike parking. We will invest an additional $375 million in annual transit operating funding, on top of emergency funds and to encourage safer winter driving, we'll introduce a refundable tax credit of $75 per winter tire. We’ll also make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians to get around and set a goal to achieve zero fatalities or serious road injuries. We’ll do this by supporting common sense road designs that improve safety and reduce collisions, and we’ll increase penalties for driving offences that result in fatalities or serious injuries.
Question 3
What are the most important things that need to happen to accommodate increased numbers of people requiring mobility in the Region as it is expected to grow to a population of nearly 1.1 million by 2051?
Burlington, NDP, Andrew Drummond
Tags: Transit, Funding
Investment in transit is key as we grow, develop, and intensify our communities over the next 30 years. The NDP commitment to a stable source of operating funding for local transit to grow and expand to serve the new communities being built will be an integral and necessary piece of this development.
Milton, Liberal Party, Sameera Ali
Tags: Transit
Better transit connectivity, through inter-regional transit.
Burlington, Green Party, Kyle Hutton
Tags: Transit, Land Use, Cycling, Driving
For some the answer is new highways and broader roadways – but Greens and community leaders reject these for what they are: not solutions, but simply old ways of putting off the problem onto later generations.
The path forward is through better, more accessible public transit and neighbourhoods built around people, not cars. Greens will support a number of measures, including helping more people make the move to remote work, build up local small and medium businesses to reduce long commuter traffic, and make available more options for mobility, such as bike lanes, alongside the infrastructure to ensure they’re viable, secure options.
Finally, for where we must address roads and motorists, we will ensure they’re maintained and redesigned with safety in mind, and plan with the community for any expansions that become necessary.
Oakville, Liberal Party, Alison Gohel
Tags: Transit, Funding
To accommodate Halton's growing population, an Ontario Liberal government would encourage and incentivize the use of public transportation, as Ontario's highways already suffer from crippling gridlock, which will continue to worsen as Ontario's population grows unless the province makes it easier and more affordable to be able to use public transportation.
Question 4
What changes do you foresee to land-use and zoning and how might these changes impact our ability to support current residents and enable new residents to live, work and play in Halton Region?
Burlington, NDP, Andrew Drummond
Tags: Funding, Transit, Sprawl
We’ll end exclusionary zoning, increasing the supply of housing options that are affordable, in complete communities where people want to live, while holding the line on costly sprawl:
We will encourage responsible development within existing urban boundaries, while protecting farmland and natural heritage from wasteful sprawl. This includes aligning growth with transit investments and updating zoning rules to enable the construction of more affordable “missing middle” housing, like duplexes, triplexes and townhomes.
Milton, Liberal Party, Sameera Ali
Lesser use of MZOs and actual public consultations with stakeholders would be nice.
Burlington, Green Party, Kyle Hutton
Tags: Parking, Transit, Sprawl
Ontario Greens are committed to fixing our antiquated zoning and land-use laws and bringing them in line with our needs as a growing Region dedicated to protecting our Greenbelt and farmlands. These are primarily geared towards allowing for building more co operative and affordable housing, infill density around accessible transit, reclaiming brownfields, ending minimum parking requirements, and other smart growth strategies.
The end goal is simple: create affordable, accessible supply that is focused around people and communities, not cars and highways. Our current planning processes are geared towards the latter, because that’s what we did for 50 years without regard to the effects on the environment and the culture that grew out of it. Greens want to focus on building new types of neighbourhoods, where someone is able to be within short travel distance of every basic need, and there is no need to jump into a car.
Oakville, Liberal Party, Alison Gohel
Tags: Transit, Funding
Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs) have let the Ford Conservatives rezone land without any public or environmental consultation – a power which they’ve exploited over 60 times, more than triple the number of the 15 years prior to their time in office. We’ll scrap MZOs and replace them with a new rules-based measure limited to critical provincial projects only – such as new not-for-profit long-term care homes, affordable housing or major employment developments. We’ll also require transparent consultations with affected local groups and Indigenous communities, and subject decisions to judicial review so they align with environmental protections and other legislation. We’ll make it easier to find out about and participate in community consultations and require municipalities to engage with diverse groups in more varied and flexible ways.
Ontario Liberals will promote housing options near transit stations and along rapid transit routes. Transit is the best tool we have to add more homes to a community without adding more cars, driveways, roads and parking lots. To ensure inclusionary zoning succeeds over the long-term and get more affordable homes built quickly, we’ll include tie-in measures with inclusionary zoning by-laws such as increasing the number of overall homes allowed to be built and permitting its expansion along rapid transit lines.
An Ontario Liberal government will empower municipalities to accelerate housing projections, make building homes a priority in growth planning legislation, and work with municipalities to expand zoning options. We’ll update Ontario’s growth planning framework to recognize that building homes for all current and future Ontarians is a fundamental obligation of local governments. And we’ll reward local governments that meet or exceed housing targets in an environmentally-sustainable manner with dedicated capital funding to use for local priorities, like better transit or community amenities like parks and libraries.