January-March 1993 Volume 1 No. 2
TRIBUTE TO GREG CURNOE AT NATIONAL
GALLERY OF CANADA (until March 28)
The NGC has organized a special memorial
installation of about 20 works by Canadian artist Greg
Curnoe, who was killed on the morning of Saturday,
November 14 while cycling with 12 others on a road
near London, Ontario. Eight other members of the
London Centennial Wheelers, a recreational cycling
club, were injured when a pickup truck apparently
ploughed into the cyclists from behind.
Commenting on the exhibit, NGC Assitant Director
Helen T. Murphy, said "I hope and pray this senseless
and horrifying accident reminds all of us, drivers and
cyclists alike, that we cannot for an instant forget to
obey the rules of the road. Our lives depend on safe
driving and riding, and on sharing the road in a spirit
of tolerance and mutual respect."
Curnoe's "What's Good for the Goose is Good for the
Gander" on display at the NGC, contains the
following handwritten note: "Thinking about car and
how to get my errands done without it in the rain -
Articles too large - Don't want to carry clean mats on
my bike."
Auto-Free Ottawa's bike-lane painting on the Bank
Street Bridge took place one week after Curnoe's fatal
accident to draw attention to the need for safer
streets and roads.
MAYOR'S TASK FORCE ON GAS PRICES WANTS
MORE SUBSIDIES FOR CARS
About one week before the Municipal Leaders'
Summit on Climate Change and the Urban
Environment, and in the middle of another mid-
January thaw (this couldn't possibly be global
warming), the Mayor's Round Table on Gas Prices
released its report on why gas prices are higher in
Ottawa. The Round Table's recommendations
essentially translate into even more subsidies for
private vehicles. Suggestions for lowering gas prices
include urging the provincial government to help gas
companies cover the high cost of closing unprofitable
stations to meet environmental standards.
Meanwhile, at United Nations headquarters in New
York, mayors from 60 cities, including Montreal,
Toronto, Sudbury and Burlington, met to discuss how
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While Ottawa's
Mayor was lobbying for lower gas prices, other mayors
from around the world were probably debating the
possibility of imposing carbon taxes on fuel and roads
to promote alternative transportation modes and
sustainable land use.
Instead of taking a leadership role along with the
other cities represented at the Summit on Climate
Change, the City of Ottawa is still ignoring its own
Official Plan guidelines to reduce dependence on cars.
AUTO-FREE ZONE* is published quarterly by
Auto-Free Ottawa, Box 21045, 151A Second
Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5N1, and is
mailed free to subscribers or members of Auto-
Free Ottawa (see form back page).
Auto-Free Ottawa is a non-profit volunteer
group, whose mandate is to draw public atten-
tion to the full costs of a car-dominated trans-
portation system, and to point out ecologically
sustainable and socially rewarding alternatives.
Viewpoints expressed in AFZ do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Auto-Free Ottawa mem-
bers. Readers are encouraged to submit
articles, annoucements, and graphics. Articles
should preferably be submitted on diskette
(WP5 or 5.1) and limited to 1,000 words. Let-
ters to AFZ must be marked "For publication"
(include address and phone number which will
not be published), and are subject to selection
and editing.
Reproduction of editorial content is welcome
provided that credit is given to the author and
issue of publication. Please send a copy of
reprinted articles to Auto-Free Ottawa for our
files.
Editor:
Lucy Segatti
Contributors:
Ann Coffey, Frank de Jong, Tom DeMarco,
Neale MacMillan, Charles Shrubsole
Photos: Margaret Jensen, Lucy Segatti
Graphics: Cathy Woodgold, Autokind vs
Mankind
Advertising:
For information on advertising rates, please
contact Auto-Free Ottawa at the address above
or at (613) 234-0923.
Deadline for next issue: Spring equinox 1993
(March 20).
AFZ is printed on unbleached, 100% post-
consumer recycled paper.
A grant from Canada Trust's Friends of the
Environment Foundation covered the printing
and part of the mailing costs of this issue.
"A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it." ț Einstein
AUTO-FREE OTTAWA ACTIVITIES
UPDATE
Since the last issue of Auto-Free Zone, in
addition to organizing a die-in protest
against Highway 416, painting a bike lane
on the Bank Street Bridge, and writing
letters and articles, AFO made a
presentation to Ottawa City Council on the
1993 budget and was invited to speak to
the Church and Society Committee of
Trinity United Church, and to 200 Grade
13 students at St. Pius X High School in
Nepean.
IF CARS ARE HERE TO STAY,
THEN HUMANS AREN'T!!
THE CURSE OF URBAN AND
AUTOMOTIVE SPRAWL
The mayors of 60 cities in 20 countries
are meeting [on January 27th] at United
Nations headquarters in New York to talk
about climate change and the urban
environment. This is a scary theme for
their gathering, because it implies their
cities are poisoning the planet. [...]
They will discussing such subjects as how
to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by
promoting alternative transportation
systems, encouraging greater density
through more economic land use and
redesigning buildings. [...]
Conference delegates will have the
opportunity to examine the results of a
two-year study of carbon-dioxide
emissions from 12 cities in North
America and overseas. [...]
The report says that average per person
carbon-dioxide emissions are 30 per cent
higher in the North American cities (12.7
tonnes annually) than in the European
cities on that list (8.8 tonnes).
It cites two reasons for this:
The average North American in the
sample cities uses almost four times as
much energy for transportation as the
average European in the sample cities.
European cities make extensive use of
district heating systemsțfrequently the
use of waste heat from power production.
This is possible in Europe [...] because
urban densities are far greater than in
North American cities. The greater
density also creates more efficient public
transit. [...]
European cities end rather abruptly; there
is no suburbia that becomes exurbia that
becomes "country estates" linked by strip
developments fingering their way across
the rural landscape.
[...] increasingly, they have public transit
and automobile no-go zones. [...]
Until the 20th century, cities were models
of energy efficiency because they brought
people, goods and services into close
proximity, minimizing demands for
transportation.
Denser population also meant more
caompact architecturețrow housing, for
example, with shared wallsțthat in turn
maximized the use of heat.
Only in the 20th century has this
traditional urban course been
pervertedțwith the splurge on brightly
lit, climate-controlled buildings, the
spread of the "ranch'style", "country-
estate-style" suburbs, and the endless
production of gasoline.
Humankind in its past has dealt
successfully with threats to its future such
as smallpox and the Black Death. It can
deal with the automobile... (Michael
Valpy, Globe and Mail, 20 January 1993)
WAR ON CAR POLLUTION
EXHAUSTED, GROUP TOLD
The big gains in the war on automotive
pollution are behind us, and the future
can only bring smaller gains at higher
cost, refiners and automakers say.
And they say many of the proposals to
clean our air may create new pollutants as
they clean up existing ones. [...]
"The cost and complexity of the (anti-
pollution) system is going to go up
tremendously" as governments tighten
pollution rules, said Joe Colucci, a senior
executive with GM in the U.S. at a
workshop hosted by Environment Canada
and Energy, Mines and Resources on
ways of blending fuels to reduce air
pollution, especially urban smog. [...]
(cont'd on page 9)
(Paper to be presented at the "Medicine and the Environment" Conference to be held in Nepal in Spring 1993)
THE MOST DANGEROUS ADDICTION
Why the medical community must be concerned about personal motor transportation: problems
and proposals
Thomas J. DeMarco, M.D. (University of Toronto, 1983)
World Without Cars
Abstract
Is the medical community overlooking its greatest opportunity to improve public health? The author will show how the eventual elimination of
personal motor transportation could have profound benefits for both public health and the environment.
Generally related only to respiratory illness and motor vehicle accidents, reliance on automobiles as the primary mode of displacement will be
shown to play an equally significant role, either directly or indirectly, in such disparate medical conditions as occupational disease, cancer,
industrial accidents, presbycusis, stress and its related syndromes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. It will also
be emphasized that automobile manufacture, maintenance and operation along with associated infrastructure is the single biggest contributor
to the gravest environmental threats, including habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, toxic waste and the
greenhouse effect.
The discussion will present high-mileage cars and alternate fuel vehicles as unacceptable options. These technologies only address emissions, a
small fraction of automobiles' total harm on health and the environment.
Rather than being a "sacrifice" it will be argued that the abandonment of cars could actually enhance lifestyle and benefit the economy. It
could also help transform our currently ecologically nonviable value system based on material wealth to one that is biocentric and sustainable.
In the process, intercultural relationships may also improve.
The author will suggest some concrete action to be taken by individuals, industry, the medical profession and government to initiate the long
process of weaning society off a most dangerous addiction.
1. Introduction
Twenty years ago, physician advocacy played a
preponderant role in Canada during the successful
crusade to ban all television advertising of tobacco.
The government had responded after being
confronted with overwhelming evidence showing that
smoking was a danger to health. Since then, the
cigarette habit has been in steady decline in our
country. Most publications have voluntarily stopped
accepting cigarette ads and many regional
governments prohibit smoking in public places.
Physicians are pleased with these developments and
they continue to participate actively in education and
lobbying efforts directed against nicotine addiction.
But is it possible that the medical community has
largely overlooked an even greater opportunity to
improve public health? The author wishes to expose
a habit that represents the single greatest behavioral
threat to safety, health and the environment. At a
conference such as this one it is imperative to discuss
personal motor transport and its profound, pervasive
negative impact on society.
The following discussion organizes the car's impact
separately under medical and environmental
considerations, though it is increasingly obvious that
the two concerns are intricately linked. A brief
outline of potential alternatives and action then
follows.
2. Medical Effects of Personal Motor Transport
2.1 Motor vehicle accidents and respiratory
disease
Since 1950, the world car fleet has increased by a
factor of seven1, to the current 500 million vehicles.
Most doctors are already aware of two concomitant
phenomena that have witnessed similar growth: car
accidents and air pollution. Fatal motor vehicle
accidents now annually claim the lives of 300,000
people worldwide. Another million or more are left
with permanent sequelae of injuries. It is more
difficult to quantify the impact of automobile exhaust
on health, due to the multifactorial etiology of
conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and lung cancer. However, there
can be little doubt that the growth of personal motor
transport has made a significant contribution to the
rising incidence of respiratory disease.
Based strictly on concerns about safety and emissions,
three Yale doctors in 1969 identified the automobile
as "public enemy number one"2. It is surprising to
what extent this warning has been ignored. Seatbelts,
airbags, fuel-efficiency standards and other advances
apparently have been considered adequate palliative
measures even though the toll exacted by increased
rates of car ownership and operation has substantially
overcome the benefits of these technologies. Equally
tragic is society's ignorance of several other
automobile-related threats to public heath.
2.2 Presbycusis
Contrary to popular belief, presbycusis is not truly
age-related, but more precisely a function of
cumulative noise exposure. The internal combustion
engine is the single biggest contributor to noise in the
twentieth century.
2.3 Industrial accidents and occupational disease
Road traffic accident statistics do not by any means
reflect the total number of trauma victims related to
personal motor transportation. Mining and industrial
activity related to the "car cycle" add significantly to
morbidity and mortality attributable to automobiles.
The "car cycle" encompasses not only all activity
involved in the manufacture, operation and
maintenance of motor cars but also includes
motorists' share of processes pertinent to the creation,
maintenance and distribution of related products such
as oil and roads3.
2.4 Cancer
The "car cycle" contributes more to toxic waste
generation than does any other form of economic
activity. Eleven of the 22 enterprises recognized as
the USA's most polluting are intimately involved in
the automotive industry. It is impossible to calculate
precisely what total contribution is thus made to the
incidence of several respiratory and non-respiratory
neoplasms, but it is reasonable to suppose it is
significant.
2.5 Stress
Stress with its myriad physical and mental
manifestations is widely recognized as "epidemic" in
modern society. The automobile is often identified as
one of the causes or aggravators of stress. Exposure
to the noise, congestion, danger and frustration of
traffic is a regular, unpleasant stimulus to motorists
and non-motorists alike. Furthermore, the "car
culture" can be a stressor in more subtle but more
pervasive ways. Car-dependent suburban communities
often leave car-less inhabitants socially isolated,
particularly housewives and children.
Time constraint is often a factor in stress. Car-
dependent development forces people to spend
inordinate amounts of time in displacement for work,
entertainment, recreation and family activities. The
total amount of individuals' time devoted to car
ownership and operation in western countries is
estimated at 1,600 hours per year4, or over four hours
a day, including the time spent at work earning money
to meet car costs.
Money worries also frequently constitute an important
stressor. In Canada the total cost of individual car
ownership is estimated to be a total of $8,000 a year.
2.6 AIDS, violence and drug abuse
The incidence of these is largely related to local social
conditions. In big American cities, urban decay has
been rampant this century, largely a function of car-
related growth of suburbia. In the USA, AIDS,
violence and drug abuse are progressively epidemic in
inner cities.
2.7 Disease related to sedentary existence
This may be the automobile's single greatest current
contribution to human morbidity and mortality. It is
widely acknowledged that obesity and lack of regular
exercise represent important factors in the etiology of
common serious conditions such as osteoporosis, non-
insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis,
coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease.
The nature of a lifestyle reliant on the effortless
convenience of personal motor transportation thus
helps foster these conditions.
2.8 War
Many modern armed conflicts have implicated sources
of automotive fuel. For example, it is argued that
were it not for its dependence on automobiles, the
USA would be self-sufficient in oil and would likely
have had much less interest in initiating recent
hostilities in the Persian Gulf that left 200,000 dead.
3. Environmental Effects of Personal Motor
Transport
Acid rain, greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion,
ground-level ozone, habitat destruction, loss of
biodiversity and decreased agricultural
production...what's bad for the beehive cannot be
good for the bees. Let us now address another
branch of public health: the environment.
The "car cycle" is a major contributor to every one of
the processes just listed. Separately, each of them
represent very important threats to large numbers of
human beings. Together they threaten the lifestyle,
health and very lives of our children and
grandchildren, wherever they may call home. Already
strained considerably with today's population of 5.5
billion people, the carrying capacity of our biosphere
is certain to diminish considerably if we continue our
heavy reliance on personal motor transportation. The
discussion will describe how car-dependence
contributes to the litany of environmental threats,
concentrating on frequently overlooked consideration.
With human numbers increasing by 95 million
annually, threats to future food production capacity
will be emphasized. The welfare of the other thirty
million species with whom we share the planet shall
only be mentioned with respect to implications for
human health, an admittedly biased and probably
dangerously anthropocentric perspective. As with the
medical considerations above, it will generally not be
attempted here to identify automobiles' precise
relative contribution to the individual processes,
because the data is not available and is in fact
incalculable. For example, figures related to the
effect of automobile exhaust do not come close to
reflecting the sum damage of the entire "car cycle".
Car exhaust is widely acknowledged as one of the
principle factors in the build-up of greenhouse gases,
perhaps contributing 20% of the total5. But the
significant contribution of industrial activity related to
the rest of the car cycle must not be ignored.
Furthermore the paving over of previously vegetated
areas for roads and parking lots inhibits the
biosphere's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the most
important greenhouse gas. Global warming ultimately
threatens large areas of currently productive
agricultural lands, either though flooding or climate
change, or through urbanization by refugees fleeing
inundated territory. Warmer climate will also favour
the poleward expansion of many tropical and
subtropical infectious agents such as malaria6.
The air conditioners in cars account for the release of
a significant fraction of ozone-layer-depleting
chemicals. As well as weakening human immune
systems, the resulting increase in radiation will likely
negatively impact crop yields.
In contrast to the protective high altitude ozone layer,
ground-level ozone, or "smog", of which up to 50%
originates in auto exhaust alone, is already causing
measurable decreases in agricultural production in
areas near urban centres7. Acid precipitation, another
car cycle product, is likely starting to have harmful
effects on some harvests as well. Another car-related
stress to farmland adjacent to cities is the accelerating
growth of suburbs and satellite communities. Both
types of development are direct consequences of
automobilization. They continue to claim larger and
larger tracts of some of the world's most productive
farming areas.
The ever-expanding road network, which can never
satisfy motorists' demands, allows access to and
destruction of natural habitats, with resultant loss of
biodiversity, continuously diminishing genetic reserves
and progressively limiting the potential for future
discoveries of plant and animal products useful as
medicine or food. "Roadsțit would be difficult to
destroy the planet without them", sighs one
environmentalist8. Road-related habitat destruction
also directly robs indigenous peoples of physical and
emotional sustenance, as well as exposing them to
communicable disease for which they may not have
immunological resistance. Road kills of vertebrate
animals also deprive many people of traditional food
sources. Road kills are estimated to occur at a rate of
four per car per year, or two billion annually9.
4. Alternatives
Despite unavailability of precise data on motorcars'
total contribution to environmental and health
problems, it should now be appreciated that society
cannot afford to delay initiation of concrete measures
to reduce car dependence. The need for further
research on the matter must not be offered any longer
as justification for inaction. Similarly, reiterating that
cars damage us and imperil us far beyond the impacts
of accidents and emissions, it should hardly be
necessary to emphasize that faith in technological
"solutions", such as airbags or vehicles powered by
alternative fuel, must be abandoned. The full
spectrum of devastation wrought by automobilization
can ultimately only be mitigated by reducing or
eliminating personal motor transport. If some hope is
still harboured for the development of cars that are
truly "user-friendly", it should be emphasized that
their production alone would constitute an unbearable
ecological load. The manufacturing process involved
to replace half a billion cars would produce 12.5
billion tonnes of waste. In fact it has been estimated
that a typical automobile produces more
environmental load in its creation than it does during
its entire operational life of emissions10.
However, there is in fact one type of alternate-fuel
vehicle that is widely recognized as conducive to
human health, security and happiness. It is called the
bicycle. The British Medical Association having
appreciated this, has embarked on an extensive public
education campaign favouring this mode both as
transportation and recreation. In the United
Kingdom, where 70% of men and 80% of women are
currently considered unfit, it is estimated that regular
activity in the form of cycling could potentially
decrease the incidence of coronary disease by 50%
and the incidence of stroke by 80%. A recent survey
in the same country revealed that over 95% of men
and 87% of women considered themselves capable of
riding a bicycle. Comparing potential life-years
gained versus potential life-years lost, cycling's net
benefit to personal health outweighs the risk of injury,
according to the BMA, despite a traffic system totally
unsympathetic to cyclists11. The risks associated with
cycling are almost universally overestimated by
motorists, who likewise underestimate the risks of
driving12. For those who would contend that the
replacement of cars with bicycles is regressive, a
Cuban man posed the following question after
witnessing first-hand the benefits of his country's
recent "velorution". "If saving on fuel, reducing
pollution and noise, improving health, and
humanizing cities is going backwards, then what is
going forwards?"
Of course the automobile cannot be replaced by the
bicycle alone. Most countries shall require
considerable improvement and expansion of all
alternate modes of transport. City planning should
henceforth incorporate all measures that can reduce
displacement distances to favour walking, cycling and
public transit.
Car use, which is currently subsidized by almost all
governments, must be made more costly and less
convenient. Enforcement of lower speed limits and
the raising of minimum age requirements for
operators of motor vehicles would have an immediate
benefit on safety.
So long suckled by its comfort and convenience, many
would initially perceive abandonment of personal
motor transport as a considerable sacrifice. Yet most
would quickly come to appreciate tangible personal
benefits, such as considerable savings in time, money
and stress levels.
Surprisingly perhaps, economic benefits of decreased
reliance on cars would also be virtually immediate and
substantial. Cost accounting consistently reveals the
automobile as a net drain on economies, even though
the financial costs of many of its negative impacts
have been ignored in such calculations. Being
resource-intensive rather than human-intensive, the
"car cycle" is also a very inefficient employer. For
example, in Canada it costs ten times more to create a
job in the automotive sector as it does in farming or
fishing or housing construction. Rural economies are
particularly victimized by car dependence13.
Abandonment of cars could also help transform the
prevalent ecologically-non-viable value system based
on material wealth to one that is biocentric and
sustainable. In the process, inter-regional
relationships between east and west, north and south,
native and non-native cultures may all improve as we
eliminate one of the greatest obstacles to social
equity.
As the most respected authorities on health matters,
physicians should feel some moral and professional
obligation to initiate the persuasion of society to
abandon a lifestyle choice that is responsible for more
morbidity and mortality than are cigarettes, drugs,
alcohol and unsafe sex combined. As they did with
tobacco 20 years ago, doctors must not only show
some community leadership in reducing personal use
of the automobile but they must also actively oppose
its publicity. And for those who feel it is hopelessly
idealistic to aspire to a healthier, happier, more
sustainable worldța world without carsțit should be
remembered that only those who have done nothing
can be sure that nothing can be done.
REFERENCES
1. Meyer, John. Zero Population Growth
Newsletter, 1990.
2. Schneider, Kenneth. Autokind vs Mankind.
New York City, Shocken Books, 1971.
3. Finch, Bob. The Case for Banning the Car.
Green Line. August 1991, 9-10.
4. Zuckerman, Wolfgang. End of the Road.
Vermont, Chelsea Green Books, 1991.
5. Pollution Probe. Costs of the Car. Toronto,
1991.
6. Last, JM. Global Environment, Health and
Health Services. Syllabus of Health and the
Environment Conference. Boston, MIT,
1992.
7. Pollution Probe, 1991.
8. Lundberg, Jan. Alliance for A Paving
Moratorium. Update 4, 1992.
9. Earth First! Killing Roads. Boulder,
Colorado, Biodiversity Legal Foundation,
1990.
10. Finch, 1991.
11. British Medical Association. Cycling Towards
Health and Safety. Oxford, Oxford University
Press, 1992.
12. Carr, Jean R. La situation de la bicyclette
en France. Perspectives mondiales sur le
vlo. Montral, Vlo Qubec, 1992: 49-55.
13. DeMarco, Thomas J. Why and How Rural
Residents Must Kick the Car Habit.
Unpublished, 1992.
GLOSSARY
atherosclerosis = "hardening of the arteries"; the
process responsible for stroke and heart attacks
cerebrovascular disease = stroke
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease = includes
conditions like chronic bronchitis and emphysema
diabetes mellitus = sugar diabetes
etiology = cause or genesis of disease
morbidity = incidence of disease, injury or suffering
mortality = death rate
neoplasms = tumours
osteoporosis = thinning of the bones, often leading to
fractures and curved spine
presbycusis = progressive deafness and ringing in the
ears, associated with aging
THE AUTO-FREE MOVEMENT UP CLOSE
The following is excerpted from an introductory package
received from World Without Cars.
WORLD WITHOUT CARS
Tom DeMarco, M.D.
Oakleigh House
7750 Matchette Road, Windsor, ON N9J 2J4
(519) 969-2777.
More a concept than an organization, World Without
Cars (WWC), encourages society to imagine a
civilization that has overcome its dependence upon
personal motor transport.
Making use of already widely available data, our work
concentrates on reason rather than on further
research. Powerful arguments are constructed against
automobiles based on economic, environmental, social
and medical considerations.
Our radical, non-compromising stance invites
controversy and debate. WWC thrives on the myriad
of excuses offered in defence of the status quo, and
welcomes opportunities to help relieve society of the
prevailing ignorance.
Those sympathetic to our vision are encouraged to
abandon their cars, to arm themselves with
knowledge, and to pick up a pen and write.
Colleagues, policy makers, business managers, non-
profit organizations and editors are all deserving of
the enlightenment that we can provide.
Not a registered, tax-creditable charity, WWC does
not actively solicit funds. Any financial contributions
received go entirely towards postage and printing
costs since scrap paper and used envelopes are free!
Original copies of drivers' licenses are also welcome
as donations and confer life membership! We do not
sell, buy or trade member mailing lists.
Whether you are looking to help or hoping for help
in coaxing society along towards a wiser
transportation system, please contact us. The more
we hear from you, the more you hear from us.
All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
țSchopenhauer
THE PLANETARY AUTO-FREE MOVEMENT: ALIVE AND THRIVING!
Action to Transportation in our
Neighbourhoods (ACTION)
175 Elm Street, Suite 901
Toronto, ON M5T 2Z8
(416) 971-5604
Alliance for a Paving Moratorium
Box 4347
Arcata, CA, Ecotopia 95521
(707) 826-7775 or (703) 885-6983
(Virginia office)
Auto-Free DC
3637 Fulton St NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 452-5950.
Auto-Free New York
494 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
(212) 941-4600
Auto-Free Ottawa
Box 21045, 151A Second Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1S 5N1
(613) 234-0923 FAX: 234-0923 (call
first)
BEST (Better Environmentally Sound
Transportation)
Box 65803, Station F
Vancouver, BC V5N 5L1
(604) 737-3004
Bikes Not Bombs
64 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 USA
(617) 277-2017
Bikes Not Cars
P.O. Box 433, Station E
Toronto, ON M6H 4E3
(416) 532-4800
Bristol Cycling Campaign
2 Seddon Road
Bristol, England, BS2 9YA
(0272) 55640
Canadian Urban Institute
City Hall, 2nd Floor, West Tower
Toronto, ON M5H 2N1
(416) 392-0082 FAX: 397-0276
Centre for Independent Transport
Research in London (CILT)
3rd Floor, Universal House
88-94 Wentworth Street
London E1 7SA UK
Citizens Against Route Twenty (CART)
50 Exeter Street
Ashgrove QLD 4060, Australia
Citizens For Safe Cycling
Box 248, Station B
Ottawa, ON K1P 6C4
(613) 722-4454 FAX: 729-2207
Coalition pour l'amlioration du transport
urbain (CATU)
186 St-Laurent
Hull, QC
Bill Clennett (819) 778-1325
Cycle Watch
P.O. Box 734, Station P
TOronto, ON M5S 2Z1
(416) 972-1525
EcoCity
9523 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5H 3V2
Environmentalists Plan Toronto
1226 Shaw Street
Toronto, ON M6G 3N6
(416) 536-2845 FAX: 536-3203
Federazione Amici della Bicicletta
Via Zandonai, CP 1132,
42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
(0522) 73247
Free Yourself From Henry Ford
P.O. Box 9090
Allentown, PA 18105
Green Transportation Coalition
c/o Debbie Field
238 Queen Street West, Lower
Toronto, ON M5V 1Z7
(416) 392-6655
Greenpeace
185 Spadina Avenue, 6th Floor
Toronto, ON M5T 2C6
(416) 345-8408 FAX: 345-8422
Group Against Road Development
(GRAD)
11 James Street
Arnprior, ON K7S 1C9
Healthy City Toronto
Corporation of City of Toronto
20 Dundas Street West, Ste 1036
Toronto, ON M5G 2C2
(416) 392-0099 FAX: 392-0089
International Federation of Pedestrians
(IFP)
3500 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2440 USA
Le Monde
Bicyclette
Case postale 1242, Succursale La Cit
Montral (PQ) H2W 2R3
(514) 844-2713
Lung Association
573 King Street East, Ste 202
Toronto, ON M5A 1M5
(416) 864-1112 FAX: 864-9916
Ontario Association of Landscape
Architects (OALA)
75 The Donway West, Ste 302
Don Mills, ON M3C 2E9
(416) 443-1785 1-800-461-0450
Ontario Cycling Association (OCA)
1220 Sheppard Avenue East
Willowdale, ON M2K 2X1
(416) 495-4145 FAX: 495-4310
Ottawalk
Box 3178, Station D
Ottawa, ON K1P 6H7
(613) 722-8101
Polish Ecological Club, Transportation
Committee
Krakow, Meissnera 4/57
Poland
Reform Toronto
633 Lakeshore Blvd W, Ste 309
Toronto, ON M5V 3B9
(416) 366-0349 FAX: 366-6674
Sensible Transportation Options for
People (STOP)
15405 SW 116th Avenue, Suite 202B
Tigard, OR 97224-2600, USA
(503) 624-6083
Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA)
401 Richmond Street West, Ste 104
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
(416) 348-0660
Trans-Action Coalition
180 Dundas Street West, Ste 1700
Toronto, ON M4X 1W3
(416) 974-9390 FAX: 974-9450
Transport 2000
P.O. Box 858, Stn B
Ottawa, ON K1P 5P9
(613) 594-3290 FAX: 594-3271
Transportation Alternatives
92 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
(212) 941-4600
Transportation Options
427 Bloor Street West, Ste 205
Toronto, ON M5S 1X7
(416) 960-0026
Urban Ecology
P.O. Box 10144
Berkeley, CA 94709
Urban Ecology Australia
28A Crossroad
Myrtle Bank, South Australia
Western Carolina Coalition for Social
Concerns
P.O. Box 5855
Asheville, NC 28813
Women On Wheels
159 Withrow Avenue
Toronto, ON M4K 1C6
(416) 462-1938
Women Plan Toronto
736 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON M5S 2R4
(416) 588-9751
Worldwatch Institute
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
World Resources Institute
1709 New York Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006
IF CARS ARE HERE TO STAY,
THEN HUMANS AREN'T!!
(cont'd from page 2)
As refiners and automakers keep trying to
make their products cleaner, "the law of
diminishing returns is setting in", said
Carmine Falcone, president of Shell
Canada Products Ltd.
It would cost $400 million to $500 million
to reduce the amount of benzene, a toxic
air pollutant, in gasoline. [...]
Environment Canada says about half of
all Canadiansțincluding most in southern
Ontario and Quebecțbreathe
unacceptable amounts of smog at some
time every summer. Smog, which forms
in hot sunshine, increases the frequency
of asthma attacks and can cause
premature aging of the lungs. (Ottawa
Citizen, 16 October 1992)
AIR QUALITY REPORT BY
POLLUTION PROBE
An estimated 34,000 tonnes of benzene
are released annually in Canada, and
motor vehicles are responsible for roughly
70 percent of that quantity. Benzene has
been linked to human leukemia. (Behind
the Smoke-Screen: The State of Canada's
Air. Janis Haliniak and Ellen Schwartzel,
Pollution Probe, 1992)
ONE GALLON OF GAS = 12 TREES
Every time a gallon of gasoline is burned
(weight about 9 pounds), about 12
pounds of oxygen are sucked from the air
and are spewed out as over 20 pounds of
carbon dioxide. On average, it takes 12
trees to absorb and lock away those 20
pounds of CO2.
How many people you know are planting
dozens of trees to make up for the gallons
of gas they burn ț or not driving
instead?
HOW FAR CAN WE DRIVE?
[...] I asked my graduate students to
calculate, for fun, how far an average car
could drive if all the carbon emitted from
the exhaust was taken up by one "average"
tree? [...] The answer was about 37
kilometres per year. At the very peak of
its growth rate, say when it's about 30-50
years old, a tree might take up enough
carbon to let you drive about 190
kilometres per year. Those calculations
were for a typical BC tree. The answer is
about 10 to 20 kilometres for folks living
in Ontario planting an average Ontario
tree. [...] The result means that each of
us would have to plant and tend one
hectare of between 500 and 1,000
Douglas firs and hemlocksțuntil they
were 60 years oldțto offset our carbon
release "responsibility". [...]
Planting a tree in your backyard won't
hurt. [...] But as a solution to increasing
atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the
resulting real threat of climatic
instabilities, planting 12 trees [as
suggested by the National Community
Tree Foundation] is a non-starter. The
solution is to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions, not to plant 12 trees that eat
the emissions [...] (David Sanborn Scott,
Prof. Mechanical Engineering, University of
Victoria in Globe and Mail Letters to
Editor, 2 September 1992)
WARNING TO HUMANITY
Urgent appeals for sharp changes in
government policies and people's attitudes
were issued recently by the Worldwatch
Institute and the Union of Concerned
Scientists, both based in Washington.
In its State of the World report for 1993,
the Worldwatch Institute cites the usual
problems such as rising population,
increasing carbon emissions, depletion of
the ozone layer, vanishing forests and
topsoil erosion.
The Union of Concerned scientists, a
worldwide collection of 1,575 scientists,
including 99 Nobel Prize winners, warns
that the Earth's peoples have no more
than one or a few decades left to avert
global ecological and social collapse.
Their paper identifies industrial countries
as the worst polluters who owe help to
the Third World. It warns of conflicts
over scarce resources and "mass
migrations with incalculable
consequences". (Copies of the World
Scientists' Warning to Humanity available
from UCS office at (202) 332-0900, FAX:
332-0905.)
CARS FACE EXTINCTION, SAYS TV
AD
EdmontonțNormally a symbol of sex and
power, the automobile will be associated
with death and environmental destruction
in Canada's first anti-car television
commercial.
A dinosaur made of cars will lumber
across sets and collapse [...] The final
frame will picture a downtown street
without cars, filled with people walking
and cycling.
"The ad is meant to break the never-
ending line of car ads and be an antidote
to the `you've got to have a car
syndrome'", says Kalle Lasn, co-founder
of Adbusters, a Vancouver-based group
which produced the ad with funds from
Greenpeace.
The 30-second ad is scheduled to hit
television screens this March [...]
The fact that Greenpeace is taking on car
companies shows a change in public
mood. [...] University of Alberta
professor Ray Rasmussen calls the ad a
watershed. "People understand something
has to change."
ț Ottawa Citizen, 18 January 1993
FORD HITS TORONTO STREETS FOR
ADS
Some of Toronto's funniest citizens are
making their TV debuts this week in the
first of a long series of commercials for
Toronto-area deleers of Ford Motor Co.
of Canada Ltd.
The TV spots pull together real on-the-
street interviews to create a savvy,
contemporary and instantly recognizable
environment in which Ford Canada hopes
to, first, grab public attention and then
build local sales.
"Take a lood at us now Toronto", is the
catchline of a campaign that John Clarke,
manager of Ford Canada's central region,
says will deliver 615 million "impressions
to Torontoniansțtwo a day for every
adult from 25 to 50"țover the year.
The 30- and 60-second TV spots are
backed by a compatible radio campaign,
with well-known on air-personalities
working their own versions of themes into
regular program chat, and by billboard
and newspaper ads. [...]
Additional market research was
undertaken that showed that
Torontonians, more than many other
Canadians, tended toward emotional
rather than practical reasons for owning a
car.
"It's how you look in it, and how it looks
in the driveway," said David Smith,
account director of Young & Rubicam
Ltd of Toronto. [...]
Mr. Clarke said that while the current
campaign is strictly for Toronto, it could
be rolled out for other cities. If so, those
commercials would have to have their
own "landscapețthey would be entirely
different creations". (Globe and Mail,
Report on Business, 14 January 1993)
BEWARE ONCOMING TRAFFIC
[...] Ten years ago the motor industry's
advertising emphasised a car's
performance. After a vigorous campaign
led by the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) and a
clamp-down by the Advertising Standards
Authority, car adverts have become less
macho. Following guidelines laid down
by the European Conference of Ministers
of Transport, most adverts no longer
document top speed and acceleration.
However, the underlying message of the
industry's 300-million advertising budget
remains the samețperformance is
everything.
The Automobile Association, which
regularly surveys car advertising, said that
in 1991, 22 per cent of adverts were
"inappropriate" and promoted illegal top
speeds. [...] The AA said that advertisers
were "acting irresponsibly towards road
safety and the environment". [...]
Neil Grieg, ROSPA's technical manager
of road safety, said that many top-of-the-
range cars already had governors to
prevent damage to the engine. "What we
are looking for is a system that prevents
damage to pedestrians as well as the
engine." [...]
Britain is making considerable strides in
improving safety on the roads. There are
now fewer drunk drivers. Traffic calming
techniques, such as road humps, are
forcing traffic to slow up and thus curbing
deaths in residential areas. Most of the
known risks are being reduced. However,
one factor stands as running counter to
this trendțthe seemingly unceasing drive
by the motor industry to turn every family
runabout into a hotrod. (New Scientist,
8 August 1992).
CUBA'S VELORUTION
Cuba's switch to bicycles is now being
hailed as an example to be followed
elsewhere, with its benefits in fuel
conservation, air quality, mobility and
personal fitness. It shows innovation and
ingenuity. (THIS Magazine, December
1992)
THE CAR INDUSTRY: IN TROUBLE
AGAIN
Environmental worry is not the only
headache for the motor industry. The car
markets of America, Western Europe and
Japan (which together account for about
90% of vehicles sold) have been in a
nasty skid. Hopes for sales of more than
13m cars and light trucks in America this
year have stalled; in 1986 more than 16m
vehicles were sold there. With sales down
by almost 5% in the first seven months of
1992, Japan is facing its worst slump in
car sales for 50 years. (The Economist,
17 October 1992)
GLASGOW MOTORWAY FIGHT GOES
ON
Thousands of Glaswegians, who boast
that their city has the lowest car
ownership in the country, have pledged to
continue their fight against a massive road
building programme.
The new motorway planțthe largest in
Britaințwould spew between 50,000 and
60,000 vehicles per day across the River
Clyde in Glasgow onto the already
congested streets on the north side of the
river. But the Government has approved
the plans nonetheless. [...]
"At stake in this battle is the very right of
people to participate in planning issues of
great impact on their lives," says Glasgow
for People secretary Alice Mosley. "Our
support goes much wider than just the
few hundred members of our group. If
we give up now we will be letting the city
down." (Green Magazine, November 1992)
A 10-year partnership between the city of
Newark, New Jersey, and private groups
has transformed vacant lots into more
than 260 community gardens. The city
composts fall leaves and delivers the rich
humus to urban gardeners. Herbs,
vegetables, and fruits worth more than
$760,000 were grown last year on the
plots, and more than 5,000 pounds of
surplus crops were given to shelters, the
elderly, and others in the community.
(Office of Recycling, City of Newark via
World Watch Magazine, Sept/Oct 92)
TRAFFIC OASIS FLOURISHES
One of Hampshire's busiest roundabouts
has been transformed into a colourful
wildflower meadow as part of a new
initiative which could be copies around
the country.
The "magic roundabout" on the A27 at
Bursledon has been revived by a group of
volunteers from Itchen Hamble
Countryside Project. With help from
sponsors BT, they seeded two acres of the
roundabout with meadow flowers and
grassesțand they've reaped the benefits.
More than 100m is spent in Britain each
year on cutting road verges to maintain
them as green deserts, often void of
wildlife, but BT and the countryside
project hope highway authorities will take
the hint. (Green Magazine, November
1992)
WORLD WITHOUT CARS MYTH-BUSTERS
(published and unpublished articles available upon
request)
World Without Cars Describes the personal process
and philosophy that led to WWC. Includes initial
WWC "manifesto".
Airbags, Schmairbags The full medical costs of
driving.
The Most Dangerous Addiction Why and how doctors
should join the anti-car movement.
The Bad C's To save wilderness, it is not enough to
draw lines on maps.
Why and How Rural Residents Must Kick the Car Habit
Cars aren't only bad for cities.
Cyclists Need A Mandatory Helmet Law Like They
Need a Hole in the Head An argument directed at the
Canadian Medical Association against the
implementation of mandatory helmets.
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Buyer beware: new high-
mileage and electric cars are not "environmentally
friendly".
Too Little, Too Late A comment on MIT's "Medicine
and the Environment" Conference.
The Enemy I See Wears a Cloak of Decency How and
why we must kick the car habit. (emphasizes medical
reasons, bicycling)
Owl Mortality and Driving in Saskatchewan A "study"
comparing car road kills vs bicycle road kills.
Excuse No. 123 Why winter is no excuse to stop
riding your bike.
Let's Stop Doing Stupid Things Why it's impossible to
reconcile genuine environmental concern with car
ownership, and what environmentalists should try to
do about it.
A LIST OF BOOKS AND REPORTS
RECOMMENDED AND COMMENTED ON BY
WORLD WITHOUT CARS
Autokind vs Mankind Ken Schneider (urban planner),
Shocker Books, 1971. ("A classic")
The Bicycle: Global Perspectives/Perspectives Mondiales
Bilingual syllabus of Vlo Qubec's 1992 Vlo
Mondiale conference. (An uneven book, but with
many veritable gems on transportation in general.)
Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International
Source Book Newman and Kenworthy, 1989, Gower
and Aldershot, publisher. (The book on the subject)
Costs of the Car Report by Pollution Probe, 12
Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5R 2S1. 1991 (An
excellent attempt at quantifying the economic costs of
cars, but unavoidably underestimates these costs
considerably. Recommendations could be stronger.)
Cycling Towards Health and Safety British Medical
Association, Oxford Press, 1992.
End of the Road Wolfgang Zuckerman, Chelsea
Green Books, Box 130, Post Mills, Vermont 05058,
1991. Other than its endorsement of high-tech cars
and its disenchantment with highspeed rail, this book
is the primer on the truth about cars.
Environmental Costs of the Car Report by
Greenpeace, 185 Spadina Avenue, 6th floor, Toronto,
ON M5T 2C6.
The Going Rate: What It Really Costs to Drive
Report by World Resources Institute, 1709 NY
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA.
The Highway and the City Lewis Mumford,
Secker/Warburg, London, 1964. Some of the earliest
and most eloquent anti-car sentiment was expressed
by this planner in the preface, Chapters 14 and 15.
Mtal hurlante Report by Le monde
bicyclette, C.P.
1242, Succ. "La Cit", Montral, PQ, (514) 844-2713.
WWC endorses every word. French only.
Transit-supportive Land Use Planning Guidelines
Ontario Ministry of Transport, 77 Wellesley Street
West, Toronto, ON M7A 1Z8, 1992. Not exactly
"zero-growth" philosophy, but the best I've seen from
a government. How to plan for a world without cars!
Available in French or English. No charge.
BIKES NOT BOMBS
64 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, USA
Bikes Not Bombs works to achieve economic justice
and peaceful co-existence by promoting grassroots
education and development projects involving bicycles
and other environmentally sustainable transportation.
BNB has chapters in Toronto and throughout the
U.S. BNB publishes the Spoke and Word newsletter.
(Fall 1992 issue included with this mailing.)
CITIZENS ADVOCATING RESPONSIBLE
TRANSPORTATION (CART)
50 Exeter Street
Ashgrove Qld 4060, Australia
From New Scientist, 26 September 1992, p. 10.
Cars get the blame for social segregation...
Accusations of human rights abuses flew around a
courtroom set up at the ANZAAS [Australian and
New Zealand Association for the Advancement of
Science] congress to try a defendent charged with
slaughtering and maiming thousands of people every
day, destroying public space, robbing children of play
areas and leading to socially segregated cities.
The accused was "the car". As traffic grew in a
neighbourhood, the less interaction there was between
people in the same street, said witnesses at the trial.
The "prosecutor" in the case was David Engwicht
from a group called Citizens Advocating Responsible
Transportation (CART), which was formed to fight a
large road development in Brisbane. But the group
realised that relocating the road would merely shift
the problem to someone else's backyard. It now
advocates city-wide solutions to traffic problems.
"I urge you not to howl for the banishment of the
car," Engwicht told the court. Instead, he advocated a
"sentence of perpetual community service". Engwicht,
whose witnesses were actors taking the role of people
harmed by the car, said the car had a devastating
effect on the social fabric of cities, where it should be
restricted to transporting the elderly and the infirm
[Cars are for the frail.țEd.] It was fine, however, to
use cars in isolated places and for taking the family
on holiday.
But the car also had its defenders. "By focusing
exclusively on the social and environmental costs of
car travel, [the prosecution] overlooks the very
substantial benefits that car use confers by giving
people access to a much greater range of activities,"
said Bob Cotgrove, an urban geographer from the
University of Tasmania.
Public transport, he said, was fixed in time, direction
and route. "It was developed in an industrial era to
ferry large numbers of workers from central
workplaces to outer dormitory suburbs. The motor
car, on the other hand, is ideally suited to the
increasingly flexible and diverse travel demands of the
postindustrial society. [At what cost, Mr.
Cotgrove?țEd.]
...as an air of malaise settles on the cities
Health risks from air pollution in Australia'a two
largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are now similar
to those in Tokyo and New York, according to Peter
Manins from Australia's largest research organisation,
the CSIRO. Manins, of the division of atmospheric
research, quoted a survey of air quality in all four
cities.
Nearby mountains and topography of Sydney and
Melbourne prevent them from assimilating large
quantities of airborne pollutants. Of the four cities,
Sydney had the highest average concentration of
nitrogen dioxide, with a reading of 98 micrograms of
NO2 per cubic metre. New York, Tokyo and
Melbourne all had similar readings, of around 65
micrograms per cubic metre.
Sydney also had the highest average concentrations of
dust, which causes haze and health problems. The
concentration was 86 micrograms per cubic
metrețwell above both Tokyo and New York, which
had readings in the low 50s. Melbourne was the
lowest with 40 micrograms per cubic metre. [...]
SO2 and NO2 react with water to form acids which
are harmful to plants and animals. [...] Manins said
the largest contributor to air pollution in the cities
was traffic emissions.
FOCUS ON OTTAWA-CARLETON
ROADS TO DESTRUCTION: COMING TO A
NEIGHBOURHOOD NEAR YOU
The following is merely a partial list of roads to be
built in the Ottawa-Carleton/Outaouais region. How
serious can the Region be about promoting
alternative modes of transportation if it continues to
spend tax dollars on building more roads for private
vehicles? Even after years of ongoing local
opposition to the Vanier Parkway extension, this road
is still in the RMOC's plans for 1996.
RMOC Transportation Department's 1992-1996
Capital Works Program:
Under construction (possibly completed):
Hunt Club Extension (Esson-Hawthorne)
Hunt Club Extension (Merivale-Bowesville)
Tenth Line Road (Innes Road-Jeanne D'Arc Blvd)
(growth-related project)
Walkley Road Extension (Russell Rd-Hwy 417)
(growth-related project)
1993:
Hunt Club Extension (Woodroffe Ave-Merivale Rd)
St Joseph Boulevard (Duford St-Centrum Rd)
(growth-related project)
St Joseph Boulevard (Youville-Jeanne D'Arc Blvd)
(growth-related project)
1994:
Hunt Club Extension (Greenbank Rd-Woodroffe
Ave)
March Road (Queensway-Solandt Drive)
Hawthorne-Walkley Connection (includes grade
separation)
Hunt Club Road (Bowesville Road-Airport Parkway)
Baseline Road (Proposed Hwy 416-Greenbank Road)
St Joseph Boulevard (Queensway-Youville) (growth-
related project)
1995:
Hunt Club Extension (Proposed Hwy 416-Greenbank
Road)
1996:
Vanier Parkway (Beechwood Ave-Sussex Drive)
Additional Roadway Projects:
-Queensway collectors
-Alta Vista Parkway
-widening Hwy 16 (from 2 to 4 lanes) from
Fallowfield Road north to Ottawa City limits
Structural Projects:
-Bronson Avenue: Heron Road to Sunnyside Avenue
1992 Transportation Planning Activities:
-Second phase of the Interprovincial Bridge Study
-Environmental Assessment Study of transportation
demands to and from Southeast Sector
-joint Ministry of Transportation of Ontario/RMOC
Queensway/Champagne Arterial Study
-joint MTO/RMOC study of the need, justification
and feasibility for the Outer Provincial Highway
Bypass including the determination of route location
between Hwy 416 and Hwy 417 East
- Innes Road Bypass study
(The above information was collected and compiled by
Neale MacMillan.)
FUNNY HOW ROAD KILL HAPPENS...
Q: What's the best way to find your way out of the woods if you get
lost?
A: Find a porcupine and follow it. Sooner or later, it will find a
road.
Q: How many racoons does it take to make love?
A: Three: two to make love and one to watch for cars.
IMPROVED ACCESS TO BASELINE STATION
Charles Shrubsole
The barrier in the middle of Woodroffe
Avenue to keep transit users from crossing between
Baseline Transitway station and Algonquin College by
the most direct route should be removed. Before it
was put in a Transportation Department survey
counted 3,440 people crossing there in eight hours,
compared with 98 at the traffic signals to the south
and 360 at the traffic signals to the north ț clearly
the people's democratic choice as they voted with
their feet. Evidently the roads department does not
believe in democracy.
According to a Transportation Department
report dated 29 November 1984 (see Regional
Council minutes for 9 January 1984), the mid-block
crossing created several problems:
a) hazard to crossing pedestrians;
b) delays to vehicular traffic and associated
loss of capacity due to pedestrian interference with
traffic flow;
c) increased potential for vehicle-versus-
vehicle accidents resulting from manoeuvres to avoid
pedestrians.
The facts were:
a) in eleven months, there was one
pedestrian accident; during the same period an
estimated 825,000 persons crossed safely;
b) there was little if any interference with
traffic flow because pedestrians crossed only during
breaks in the traffic caused by the traffic signals at
each end of this stretch of road;
c) the Transportation Department admitted
there were no known cases of collisions between
vehicles as a result of manoeuvres to avoid hitting
pedestrians.
Although the problems the barrier was
designed to solve were imaginary, its inconvenience
for pedestrians is real. It takes a minute and a half at
normal walking speed, and considerable extra effort,
to cover the estimated extra walking distance of about
125 metres. As during the same time 11,150 vehicle
movements were counted (less than four times the
number of pedestrians), pedestrians crossing would
have had to delay motor traffic by an average of about
28 seconds per vehicle for the barrier to produce a
net reduction in lost time.
The report rejected installation of a
pedestrian signal at this point as too expensive and a
cause of delay to motor traffic. Why even consider
this? The signals immediately north and south of the
crossing break the traffic flow, allowing pedestrians to
cross; why not credit them with enough intelligence to
decide for themselves when it is safe? The good
safety record of this crossing showed that they had
been doing this competently. The convenience and
safety of pedestrians could have been further
improved by providing a refuge in the centre of the
road to allow them to cross the carriageways for each
direction separately.
All the data used above came from the report
that recommended building the barrier. Why did the
Transportation Department go to the expense of
gathering this data and then not take the trouble to
analyse it intelligently? The only reason for building
the barrier was a prejudice against pedestrians
crossing in the middle of a block, although that it
often the safest place to cross, especially on one-way
streets or divided roads, because there is no turning
traffic.
HIGHWAY 416: COMPLETION STALLED?
The construction of Highway 416 reflects the
1950s planning mentality that gave us urban sprawl.
This obsolete approach to transportation is blatantly
inappropriate given the ecological and economic
crises we will continue to face in the 1990s and
beyond. If completed, Highway 416 will perpetuate
dependence on private vehiclesțboth private cars and
transport trucks.
The Ontario government approved the
construction of Highway 416 in response to persistent
lobbying by Pave the Dream, a coalition of local
politicans and business people. The main purpose of
the new highway will be to provide an alternative
route for transport trucks.
Building highways and subsidizing private
vehicles in the 1990s will have the same outcome as
the subsidization of nuclear power plants over the last
20 years. Completing the construction of Highway
416 will mean throwing good money after bad,
only to find in the end that new roads are an
ecologically destructive and economically
unsustainable solution to our transportation
problems.
In the March 1992 issue of New Planning, the
Commission on Planning and Development Reform in
Ontario stated that by building new roads, the
provincial government is encouraging people to live
further away from their workplace, and is increasing
its own costs by supporting the use of an extensive
road network.
In The Costs of the Car, by adding the cost
of "externalities" to direct costs, Pollution Probe
calculated that in Ontario alone private cars are
subsidized by $5 billion every year. (Hidden costs
include: damage to agriculture, tourism and forestry
from acidification; crop damage due to ground-level
ozone and global warming; lost time due to traffic
congestion; lost productivity due to car-related
injuries and death.)
The $350-million subsidy that has been
allocated to build Highway 416 would go a long way
towards restoring sustainable transportation modes,
such as rail for freight and intercity passenger
transportation, and improving urban public transit
service. (In the United States and Europe, trains are
enjoying a revival.)
Not only would rail service for freight make
existing highways safer by discouraging the use of ever
larger tractor trailers, but the shipping of dangerous
chemicals, which is still being allowed, would at least
be confined to a known corridor.
Expropriating farmland to build a highway is
irresponsible and threatens Ontario's food security.
The quality and quantity of farmland in the province
is fast eroding: since the turn of the century, the
amount of soil nutrients in agricultural land in
Ontario have dropped by about 50% (Standing Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Soil at Risk: Canada's Eroding Future, Ottawa, 1984,
p. 113). At the very least, the Ontario government
should defer construction until the review of its own
farmland and land use policies has been completed.
In addition to destroying precious farmland,
Highway 416 will also disrupt the wildlife habitat in
the Stony Swamp Conservation Area. Construction of
Highway 416 close to or through sensitive ecological
areas and wildlife corridors will cause irreversible
damage.
Governments promoting road construction as
a means to create jobs display an irresponsible lack of
understanding of the gravity of our ecological crisis.
Roads are destructive and the jobs created by building
roads are not long-term, do not generally benefit the
local community, and are not ecologically sustainable.
Full-cost accounting should be applied to the
construction of Highway 416 to take into account the
health, social, ecological and economic costs that
Ontario citizens will have to pay over the long-term if
Highway 416 is completed.
In December, the completion of Highway 416
was put on hold, and the provincial government is
considering imposing tolls to cover the cost of
building the highway. The completion date has now
been delayed by four years, although business groups
and local politicians are busy lobbying to speed up
construction.
An environmental impact assessment was
completed in 1987 "after a lengthy public hearing".
Today the same environmental assessment review and
public consultation carried out in goodwill would
not support paving over still more of our battered
planet. There may still be time to stop this untimely
project if political representatives hear from enough
of their concerned constituents.
(An earlier version of this article appeared in the Dec/Jan. issue of
the Peace and Environment News).
CONCERNED ABOUT HIGHWAY 416?
Let your elected representatives know about it:
Ontario government:
Premier Bob Rae
Legislative Building, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A5
(416) 585-7111
Evelyn Gigantes, MPP
Ottawa Centre
407 Queen Street
Ottawa, ON K1R 5A6
(613) 237-0212 FAX: (613) 237-3067
Gilles Pouliot, MPP
Minister of Transportation
Ferguson Block, 3rd floor
77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 1Z8
(416) 327-9200 1-800-267-0295
Region of Ottawa-Carleton:
Ottawa-Carleton Centre
Cartier Square
111 Lisgar Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 2L7
Peter D. Clark, Regional Chair
(613) 560-2068
Tim Kehoe, Chair, Regional Transportation
Committee
(613) 564-1299
CITY OF OTTAWA NEWSț
OR JUST MORE OF THE SAME?
WHY NOT BIKE LANES ON BANK STREET
BRIDGE?
Out of concern that more cyclists will be
injured or killed if measures are not taken
immediately to make the streets of Ottawa safe, on
Saturday, November 21 over one dozen Auto-Free
Ottawa supporters gathered to paint an unofficial bike
lane on the newly reconstructed Bank Street bridge.
(Even though care was taken to use water-soluble
paint, six of the activists were later charged with
mischief.)
By the end of the morning, RMOC road
crews had covered the new bike lane with black paint
and painted a quarter-metre curb lane in its place.
The event (which was given favourable
coverage on CJOH news and was reported on CHOT
and CKCH in Hull) was held in memory of cyclists
who had been injured or killed recently. That week a
cyclist was killed in a collision with a vehicle in
Gatineau. One week earlier, renowned Canadian
artist Greg Curnoe was killed and six other cyclists in
his group were injured while cycling near London,
Ontario. About six months earlier, an Ottawa cyclist
had been seriously injured on the Bank Street bridge
itself.
Even though the bridge is clearly unsafe, the
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton maintains
that no bike lanes can be allowed because the Bank
Street bridge is a heritage bridge which cannot be
widened.
Precisely because it is a heritage bridge, fewer
cars should be allowed to use it to extend the bridge's
lifespan. The bridge could be converted to three
lanes for cars (one lane changing directions at peak
hours - like the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver)
and two lanes (the equivalent of one car lane) for
bicycles.
Less vehicular traffic on the bridge would
extend its life. Not only do cyclists, pedestrians and
even buses weigh many tonnes less than car users, but
the amount of salt used could probably also be
reduced, thereby preventing premature damage to the
bridge. In addition, car emissions have been shown to
corrode buildings and have the same effect on this
heritage bridge.
According to the police officers who stopped
the lane painting, the region had the bridge paved
with an expensive anti-skid surface which is suuposed
to reduce the risk of cars swerving into other cars or
cyclists.
The RMOC probably could have had the
same effect and saved hundreds of thousands of
dollars by placing two "DANGER - REDUCE
SPEED" signs in both directions before the bridge,
and by reducing the speed limit before and on the
bridge. Skid-proof pavement caters to drivers and
sends a signal that driving at unsafe speeds no matter
what the conditions is acceptable under existing
legislation.
A bike-lane system study is under way, but
Auto-Free Ottawa is concerned that delays
(apparently no new bike lanes are planned for at least
four years) will result in more cyclist deaths or
injuries in the meantime.
Obviously, drivers and politicians do not yet
realize that they share direct responsibility for the
safety of our streets, and the viability of our planet.
Motorists have to understand their place in a
sustainable transportation hierarchy. Not only should
they be paying for the full cost of their driving
addiction, but their arrogant and careless attitude
towards other road users must change.
As we move towards a green transportation
hierarchy, cyclists and walkers, who unlike motorists
are not subsidized and do considerably less damage to
city infrastructure and our environment, should be
given priority in urban and transportation planning.
Unsustainable and damaging modes of transportation
should be charged for the full cost of their
detrimental impact on society and on our biosphere.
In addition to bike lanes, which provide only
an interim solution, speed limits in general should be
reduced, the number of car lanes should be reduced
to allow more room for cyclists, and extensive
motorist education is needed to raise awareness about
driver responsibility for the safety of cyclists and
walkers.
How long will it take before regional and city
councillors understand the economic savings and the
social and ecological benefits to be realized if more
people felt it was safe enough to travel by bicycle?
(A version of this article appeared in the February 1993 issue of the
Peace and Environment News.)
MORE URBAN SPACE LOST TO CARS
UNLESS YOU ACT NOW!
DOWNTOWN BUILDING THREATENED BY CARS
The 22-unit McCord apartments (at 374-380 Somerset
Street West) may be demolished to make way for a
parking lot for the adjacent IGA. Dating from 1908,
the building is on the City's Heritage Reference List
and Heritage Ottawa has taken an interest in the
building.
Tenant Roman Suttor is totally against the demolition
and with the help of the Federation of Ottawa-
Carleton Tenant's Association has organizaed two
meetings and started a petition.
Most of the local residents who shop at the store take
the bus or walk. Rather than tear down yet another
apartment building, existing parking lots should be
developed into more residential space so that more
people can shop downtown without having to own
cars.
The demolition application goes before the Economic
Affairs Committee of the City of Ottawa and then
before Council in February or March.
ACTION: If you agree that downtown Ottawa has
enough parking space and not enough living or
greenspace, call up your Councillor about this proposed
demolition.
MORE SUBSIDIES FOR CARS: FREE WEEKEND
PARKING TO STAY
In December, downtown merchants convinced a city
committee to reconsider eliminating free weekend
parking downtown and adding 1,700 new parking
metres. They also complained about the parking-rate
hikes imposed last August at two city garages (from
$2 to $3/hr) and at two metred parking lots (from
$1.50 to $2).
The City's Economic Affairs Committee agreed to ask
Ottawa Council to delay its decision until February to
allow for public consultation and negotiations with
the merchants.
Downtown businesspeople made the helpful
suggestion of putting meters at Bayshore and Place
d'Orlans shopping malls, where they assume
shoppers have been going since the rate hike in
August.
ACTION: If you agree that cars are already over-
subsidized, ask your Councillor not to lower parking
rates or back down on the elimination of free weekend
parking.
If there is a transportation or environmental issue that
concerns you, call, write or fax your City or Regional
representative. Phone numbers and addresses are given
below.
For greater effect, letters to City Hall could be copied
to the Ottawa Citizen.
Ottawa Citizen
1101 Baxter Road
Ottawa, ON K2C 3M4
596-3699 FAX: 596-8458
City of Ottawa:
Ottawa City Hall
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 5A1
Mayor Jacquelin Holzman
564-1342 FAX: 564-8411
Councillors FAX: 564-8412
George BROWN Riverside 564-1296
Jill BROWN Britannia 564-1336
Richard CANNINGS By-Rideau 564-1320
Alex CULLEN Richmond 564-1333
Peter HARRIS Dalhousie 564-1305
Diane HOLMES Wellington 564-1311
Peter HUME Alta Vista 564-1317
Tim KEHOE Carleton 564-1299
Jacques LEGENDRE Overbrk-Forbes 564-1339
Jack MacKINNON Canterbury 564-1314
Mark MALONEY Carlngt-Wstbro 564-1326
Nancy MITCHELL St. George 564-1329
Joan O'NEILL Billings 564-1302
Jim WATSON Capital 564-1308
Joan WONG Elmdale 564-1323
Region of Ottawa-Carleton:
Ottawa-Carleton Centre
Cartier Square
111 Lisgar Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 2L7
Peter D. Clark, Regional Chair
(613) 560-2068 FAX: 560-6010
Tim Kehoe, Chair, Regional Transportation
Committee
(613) 564-1299 FAX: 564-8412
Auto-Free Ottawa sent the following letter to the Mayor and City Councillors asking what has been done so far to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Copies of the replies received follow.
October 16, 1992
Mayor Jacquelin Holzman
City of Ottawa
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 5A1
Dear Ms. Holzman:
On behalf of Auto-Free Ottawa, I am writing to express our grave concern over Ottawa City Council's lack
of commitment to election promises to improve the quality of life for Ottawa residents.
At public meetings held over the past two years or more, the City of Ottawa announced its intent to
implement several environmental programs, such as the Environmental Agenda, MEEP and a commitment to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions.
So far nothing appears to have been done to carry out these programs. Instead, the City of Ottawa recently
voted to roll back to 20% an earlier commitment to reduce CO2 by 50%. This appears to reflect Council's overall
lack of commitment to fighting the further degradation of our environment and to protecting our neighbourhoods.
Auto-Free Ottawa maintains that Ottawa's car-dominated transportation system is socially destructive,
ecologically unsustainable and economically draining. Funds to pay for environmental programs would be available
if subsidies to private cars were removed. Increased parking fees or carbon taxes should not be viewed as penalties
or "sticks", but merely the private car owner paying for the true cost of operating a private vehicle inefficiently (i.e.
often with only one occupant), and the cost of degrading the region's clean air, water and soil at an unsustainable
rate.
All over the world, cities are recognizing the folly of perpetuating our dependence on cars. In its revised
Official Plan, the City of Ottawa seemed to agree. But what bylaws have been enacted or amended, and what
programs have been implemented to prove City Council's commitment to the new Official Plan guidelines?
The City's insignia (which fails to represent half of Ottawa's population) says "Advance Ottawa En Avant".
However, in 1992 no innovative policies are even being considered to deal with the economic, social and ecological
problems Ottawa will be facing in the near and distant future. It is time for Councillors to take the creative risk
that Ottawa residents so desperately crave. Attached is a copy of a report on a survey of politicians in the European
Community that shows that the electorate is ready for changes politicians are afraid to make.
Auto-Free Ottawa would like to know what proof you can offer that you are considering the ecological
impact of your decisions. Specifically, we would like to know if adequate funding will be allocated in the 1993
budget to ensure that the environmental programs promised by the City will actually be implemented.
Our members look forward to your replies which will be published in the upcoming issue of our newsletter,
Auto-Free Zone.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Frank de Jong
c.c. Ottawa City Councillors
The Ottawa Citizen
CYCLISTS WAKE UP!!!
The Ontario Coalition For Better Cycling is mounting a campaign to fight Bill 124 which will make bike helmets
mandatory. While encouraging the wearing of helmets, the Coalition maintains that a law will not prevent accidents.
Instead, they are asking for cycle skills training in Ontario schools; education of car drivers on sharing the road;
bikeways, bike lanes and paved shoulders; enforcement of existing laws against motorists who fail to share the road;
enforcement of existing bicycle laws.
HELP FIGHT THE BILL!
VISIT, PHONE, WRITE OR FAX your local MPP, Premier Bob, members of his cabinet, leaders of the opposition,
and other legislators. Remember to also write to newspapers and cycling newsletters.
ACCESS TO PROVINCIAL POLITICIANS
Phone your local ACCESS ONTARIO office to get Queen's Park addresses and phone numbers for MPPs. You can
phone Queen's Park numbers toll free by dialing 1-800-268-3747 during business hours, but you will need the MPP's
Queen's Park number to use the toll-free number.
Premier Rae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-1941
Gilles Pouliot, Min of Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327-9200
Frances Lankin, Min of Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327-4300
David Cooke, Gov't House Leader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-7873
Ruth Grier, Min of Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323-4360
Marion Boyd, Min of Comm. and Social Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-5225
Lynn McLeod, Liberal Opposition Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-7155
Murray Elston, Lib. House Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314-4676
Greg Sorbara, Lib. Transport Critic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-7280
Mike Harris, PC Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-7800
Ernie Eves, PC House Leader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325-7747
For more information on the Coalition's campaign, in Ottawa call Avery Burdett, Co-Chair Bill 124 Task Force at
567-3226 (Fax: 729-2207).