Vincent J. Curtis
13 June 2015
Sirs;
The “McMaster Institute for Transportation Logistics” is a portentous
expression, signifying loose screws.
The Spectator report on “Shaping Hamilton with Complete Streets” shows how
little mistakes at the beginning lead to disastrous consequences at the end.
The first principle of a road is to carry traffic. This first
principle was forgotten by the gas bags who composed the definition of a
‘complete’ street as: “one that aims to make streets safer, more appealing,
vibrant, and accessible for all users of the built environment, from children
to the elderly.”
Obviously, this definition fails to pass metaphysical muster. In the
first place, it says that complete means more of this and that, i.e. a
comparative, and the ordinary sense of complete is a perfection.
The researchers had in their hands data which showed that car traffic is the
first and second most important mode of transportation in Hamilton. Their
flawed logic led them to recommendations that would reduce the capacity of
roads to carry vehicular traffic quickly and efficiently, and make driving a
car more obnoxious rather than less.
The science of traffic engineering is what these researchers dabbled in, but
the politics of environmentalism destroyed much of the value the report might
have contained.
When I see a report that recommends more road construction and faster speeds,
then I’ll pay attention.
-30-
Published in the Hamilton Spectator on 20 June 2015.
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