Promises made by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to buy Highway 407 and remove the tolls to help ease chronic gridlock have so far come up empty,

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French, the NDP Critic for Infrastructure, Transportation & Highways, called out the government’s inaction on Highway 407 as the region faces some of the “worst traffic worldwide.”

“People deserve a government that gets them where they need to go, safely and efficiently,” said French. “While people are stuck in gridlock across the GTA, the 407 sits half-empty – and this premier isn’t doing anything about it.”

Mississauga city council has voted to keep its residential street sports ban in place, meaning hockey and basketball on the road will remain out of bounds.

The Nov. 6 vote came more than a year-and-a-half after Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo brought forward a motion aimed at amending the bylaws, noting that some residents have “weaponized” the existing rules to prevent kids from playing on their streets.

Mississauga has observed the ban since 1979. It was amended in 2010 to also include the prohibition of sporting equipment, like hockey and basketball nets, on the roadway.

Colten Williams began putting together his Christmas light show a decade ago at the behest of his grandmother, who was inspired by light shows she had seen on TV.

But trouble started brewing in Kingsville after several neighbours lodged complaints about their street being crowded with cars for six weeks every year.

This month, the city enacted a new bylaw that would force the Williams family to apply for a permit for their display while also placing restrictions on the number of hours they would be allowed to leave the lights on.

“They basically limited the amount of hours I could have my show from about 28 hours a week down to 10 hours a week,” Williams said. “So you have 500 hours, 600 hours worth of set up time just to have 40 hours the lights on all month long. That’s an insane amount of work.”

Rogers said the council is sad to see them turn off the lights but said the show had outgrown its location as well.

“We were saddened to learn that the Williams family will not move forward with their light display this year,” he said.

“Our discussions with the family last year at a council meeting we both agreed that they had outgrown the neighbourhood.”

Rogers went on to say that the city had tried to work with the family to find an alternative location but was unable to meet their demands.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22337621

An amendment, tabled and passed on Thursday, gives the government and contractors it taps to tear bike lanes out on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue protection from lawsuits, including if someone is injured on those roads.

The last-minute amendment gives the government the ability to remove bike lanes from the entirety of Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue, not just the most controversial parts the government has talked about.

Sarkaria said it was possible the routes could be removed in their entirety — but a final decision had not yet been made.

“We’ll examine the entire stretch to see which parts — ultimately all of it could be removed,” he said on Thursday.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22303445

Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile has launched a new campaign on Thursday, with the lengthy hashtag #EndOverpricedRoamingFeesNow, to challenge ‘Big 3’ incumbents, Rogers, Telus and Bell, on their costly roaming charges.

Direct link to the petition: https://chng.it/qdc9hbcx5Z

The campaign encourages Canadians to sign a Change.org petition and demand fairer pricing from our dominant telecoms.

The move comes after the CRTC requested these companies to address complaints about high roaming fees. Despite the pressure, Rogers, Telus and Bell defended their daily roaming rates, which can cost Canadians as much as $16 per day while traveling, saying their pricing is competitive.

Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile has launched a new campaign on Thursday, with the lengthy hashtag #EndOverpricedRoamingFeesNow, to challenge ‘Big 3’ incumbents, Rogers, Telus and Bell, on their costly roaming charges.

Direct link to the petition: https://chng.it/qdc9hbcx5Z

The campaign encourages Canadians to sign a Change.org petition and demand fairer pricing from our dominant telecoms.

The move comes after the CRTC requested these companies to address complaints about high roaming fees. Despite the pressure, Rogers, Telus and Bell defended their daily roaming rates, which can cost Canadians as much as $16 per day while traveling, saying their pricing is competitive.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21960771

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21139835

The Ford government is promising to pay the cost of removing bike lanes from major city streets that fail to meet its unannounced criteria as it ploughs ahead with a plan to limit biking infrastructure and rip out some routes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21139835

The Ford government is promising to pay the cost of removing bike lanes from major city streets that fail to meet its unannounced criteria as it ploughs ahead with a plan to limit biking infrastructure and rip out some routes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20991847

City councillor says the project is a low-cost effort to add some greenery. Others say it takes away already limited parking space in the Plateau.

The general public seems to be missing the point of the curb extensions as a traffic calming initiative with the added benefits of greenery. Instead focusing on the removal of parking spaces, and not on the increased visibility and lower vehicle speeds these types of installation promote.

City councillor says the project is a low-cost effort to add some greenery. Others say it takes away already limited parking space in the Plateau.

The general public seems to be missing the point of the curb extensions as a traffic calming initiative with the added benefits of greenery. Instead focusing on the removal of parking spaces, and not on the increased visibility and lower vehicle speeds these types of installation promote.