Premier Ford,

I do not write a lot of letters but I am moved to write this one: about the proposed construction of Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.

The issues at stake are huge and will outlast us all with a damaging legacy. The emissions and toll of construction involved, and the resultant increase in gas powered vehicle traffic, cars occupied by individual commuters living in satellite communities, will greatly contribute to carbon emissions at a time when we are already failing to control and reduce our combined carbon footprint.

Construction of these roads will come at a dual (and devastating) cost:
The billions of $ that could otherwise go towards improving inter-city and urban public transit; affordable housing; and reducing urban sprawl, and
The loss of forested areas and wetlands en-route: remnants of an irreplaceable ecosystem necessary for 1)preserving what biodiversity remains there, 2) for carbon sequestration, 3)for absorption of rain water, and 4) flood prevention.

I have not yet mentioned the health impacts on the communities along these routes.

Please don’t let this plan become Ford’s Folly. There is too much at stake.
Like the signs: STOP! YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY!

Our question to you today is this:

How can your government justify pushing forward with these two projects and at this time when there is substantial opposition from the municipalities most affected, and the losses entailed far outweigh the benefits??

Danuta Valleau and Michael McLuhan, Georgian Bluffs