QUALITY OF LIFE: WE CAN AFFORD TO CARE
PUBLIC TRANSIT TAKEN SERIOUSLY
The monetary value of road damage, pollution and traffic accidents caused by heavy transport trucks is unacceptably high. The value of taxes paid by trucking companies does not fully cover the costs of these negative impacts on our society. That means that the increased burdens on transportation infrastructure and healthcare caused by the truck transport business are subsidized by the taxpayer....and the environment. Green Party believes that rail for freight and expanded public-transit are clearly better options. More people on trains, buses and bikes means fewer cars on the road, which translates into a reduced need for ever bigger roads. It also means less smog, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, fewer accidents, and reduced road maintenance.
At the municipal level, city and township councils rarely weigh the heavy costs of road maintenance and construction against the much lower cost of promoting more efficient public-transit and cycling. By promoting public-transit investment and reducing car dependency, municipalities can reduce their own infrastructure costs, and at the same time improve the lives of their citizens. The Green Party would ensure that all new developments be subject to development charges that are more in line with the cost of providing infrastructure services (transit included). Municipalities would also be encouraged to change land-use regulations to ensure that new developments incorporate a core of shops, schools, and work-places to which residents can walk or cycle.
In addition to offering drivers attractive alternatives
to the daily commute, we can accelerate improvements to the car itself. Stricter
emission regulations and taxes on fossil fuels would further spur the automotive
industry to clean up its engines. Lower sales taxes on zero-emission systems
would encourage consumer demand for better, cleaner cars.Public-transit taken
seriously will mean a better, cleaner, healthier Ontario ... and savings that
go well beyond financial.