Environment Commissioner: toll roads will cut traffic

The Toronto Star:

Ontario Environment Commissioner Gord Miller says toll roads are the way to go if the province is serious about tackling traffic congestion.

“We have to reduce the number of single-passenger vehicle trips in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area,” Miller said in a report released Tuesday that notes that such trips are already at a higher level than most comparable cities.

“Traffic congestion is more than just an inconvenience; it imposes huge costs on the economy, the environment and public health,” Miller said in the annual Greenhouse Gas Report.

According to the report, single passenger vehicle trips in GTA are projected to increase by 1.4 million additional vehicles by 2031.

The call for road tolls is part of Miller’s attack on the Ontario government for failing to meet its target for reducing greenhouse gases by 2014.

Instead of advocating cleaner ways to travel, he noted that Ontario cancelled a tax credit for fuel-efficient vehicles, as well as the Ontario Bus Replacement Program, and has frozen funding for Green Commercial Vehicle program.

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