{"id":32010,"date":"2024-06-06T09:33:44","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/?p=32010"},"modified":"2024-06-06T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:34:08","slug":"pro-car-planning-is-destroying-collingwoods-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/pro-car-planning-is-destroying-collingwoods-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Car Planning is Destroying Collingwood’s Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"CarI<\/span> warned you<\/strong>: Council would support the anti-resident\/anti-environment\/pro-vehicle attitude that pervades town hall<\/a>. I warned you they would deforest Sixth Street to make it a bigger, faster speedway for vehicles. I warned you they would add more pollution, more noise, and more traffic on Sixth Street. I warned you that they would lower property values there. I warned you they would make it more unhealthy<\/a> for residents, for our water, and for trees and wildlife.<\/p>\n

And they did.<\/em><\/p>\n

CollingwoodToday<\/a> has the sad story of how our council has voted in favour of cars, not residents, with a headline that says “Council reluctantly approves Sixth St. tree replacement plan.” Reluctantly<\/em>? Bullshit<\/strong>: they all voted for this:<\/p>\n

Those three dozen trees are currently standing on the north side of Sixth Street, including14 Silver Maples that are between 60 and 100 years old, a Honey Locust that is about 33 years old and seven Norway Maples between 40 and 60 years old.
\nAnd all of them will be cut down to make room for the town\u2019s Sixth Street reconstruction project.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am deeply saddened and feel betrayed that none<\/em> of council had the spine to stand up and fight for resident-first community and for keeping our beautiful urban canopy. All<\/em> of them caved in to staff demands to deforest the streetscape and widen the traffic lanes to make it better and faster for cars and trucks without even a suggestion for traffic calming or much-needed all-way stop signs along the route.*<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Councillors made risibly disingenuous comments about how awful they felt in denuding the street. Et tu, Brute?<\/em> They then sloughed off any municipal responsibility for any alleged replacements by making it the residents’ responsibility to manage and maintain them:<\/p>\n

The plan is to replace them at a two-to-one ratio and offer\u00a0new trees for Sixth St. residents to be planted on their private property at no cost to property owners.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This vague and impractical suggestion doesn’t seem to have been developed in consultation with those residents, nor was there any evident survey asking if they wanted to take on that responsibility for the town’s poor pro-vehicle planning.<\/p>\n

Given the town’s long history of not<\/em> replacing boulevard trees they have cut down, and even when they do plant some after years of badgering from residents, they abandon them without care so many die, do you really<\/em> think an anti-environmental townhall will follow through on this? Are councillors so gullible to believe assurances an immature stick of a tree is a replacement for a magnificent 60-100-year-old one that acts as a wildlife home, pollution mitigator, and shade producer? Do they really<\/em> think new trees will do better when the street and the groundwater are more polluted from the additional vehicle exhaust**<\/strong><\/span> and the worse threat of tire and brake particles<\/a>?***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(I cannot find in the media a single comment from anyone on council about the problems of increased pollution or noise****<\/strong><\/span> for Sixth Street residents… another reason we need a ward system here<\/strong>, so someone can be held accountable for ignoring major issues and health concerns).<\/p>\n

Why not plant replacement trees on other sidestreet boulevards?<\/strong> <\/em>Because townhall doesn’t like or want trees and certainly won’t care for them<\/a>. How many trees have been replaced for those cut down in Harbourview Park for ash borers or the Labyrinth? Right: none<\/strong>. How many of the 50-plus mature trees that were cut down along Hurontario Street last term have been replaced? Right: none<\/strong>.\u00a0How many trees were planted in the town-owned empty lot downtown across from town hall? Right: none<\/strong>. Instead, it was paved over in a blatant anti-environmental middle-finger gesture to residents.<\/p>\n

Our feckless mayor cried crocodile tears while saying how wonderful it would be to have a faster, noisier, dirtier, less safe street with not a single<\/em> attempt at traffic calming implemented on it:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis hasn\u2019t been an easy decision, but I do believe at the end of the day we\u2019re going to have an awesome standard in place for separated bike lanes. I\u2019m certain we\u2019ll end up with more, healthier trees,\u201d said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s all bullshit.<\/strong> Everyone at the table is aware of what a nightmare Sixth Street already is for traffic and everyone knows it will become worse with this plan. Yet Council voted to do staff’s bidding and deforest a part of the town for the benefit of drivers, many of whom are not even residents and are merely passing through town.<\/p>\n

Collingwood deserves better.<\/em><\/p>\n