The traffic jam solution is clear. Hire more agents

Toronto Star

2 days ago

Toronto's old-fashioned — but effective — way to ease traffic jams has one serious flaw, May 30
Traffic lights are supposed to direct drivers but drivers don't adhere to their signals. Instead they follow their frustrations. City Hall keeps having studies done and continue to contemplate the best response. I drive and idle in traffic jams every day. The only success I see is the result of drivers following the orders of traffic agents. Drivers like them and many wave to them in thanks. So why does the city keep worrying about the significant cost? Time is money for commercial and private drivers. Perhaps the mayor and a few counsellors should sit in traffic and watch the traffic agents do their magic. The solution is right in front of them. Hire more agents. Let's go Toronto.
Mike Faye, Toronto
The time has come for congestion charges
As a delivery driver to downtown Toronto from Mississauga, sometimes two or three times a day, I'm frustrated with the current gridlock especially on the Gardiner Expressway which is made worst by current construction at Park Lawn Road and Jameson Avenue. I estimate that 95 per cent of the private vehicles have single occupants. Surely it's time for a congestion charge to be introduced, perhaps from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Several major cities have this charge including London, UK. and Manhattan, U.S. This has proved effective in reducing the number of vehicles and therefore lowering pollution, cutting costs to commercial business. Transit is readily available and frequent for commuters travelling along the east/west corridor.
Paul Beard, Mississauga
It all unraveled for Poilievre when he lost his foil
Why Pierre Poilievre lost his seat — and why Mark Carney stumbled short of a majority government, May 29
The election result can be summed up quite easily. For two years the 'Anybody But Trudeau Canadians' significantly outnumbered the 'Anybody But Poilievre Canadians.' Then along came Mark Carney who was neither Trudeau nor Poilievre.
Canadians decided Carney's background made him the leader for the current circumstances. Poilievre's hectoring tone and relentless repetition of the country-is-broken theme were only accepted while Trudeau was the alternative.
The Tory campaign proceeded on the basis that the worldwide political trend was to the right, and GOP rally-based campaigns seemed effective. For many Canadians, the desire to get rid of Trudeau was not a repudiation of Liberal social programs. Many NDP supporters voted Liberal to protect those programs. Poilievre's pledge not to take away benefits did not align with the fact that he had voted against them.
The Tory animus towards Trudeau and everything he did led to support for the Convoy as they disrupted Poilievre's home city, and courting anti-vaxxers at a time when diseases that vaccines had eliminated were reappearing.
David Steele, Saskatoon, SK
Canada Post is a priceless emblem of nationhood
Canada Post's final offer has 'fallen short,' union says, as delivery volumes continue to plummet, May28
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One of the reasons Justin Trudeau was first elected was on his promise to restore door-to-door mail delivery to every Canadian address. In so doing, he would have created thousands of jobs and given Canada the legacy of the most comprehensive postal service in the world. Instead, he followed the usual Liberal protocol of spending billions to import voters for himself and throw money around the world on issues which are none of our business.
The present postal strike is not about wages. The posties are fighting for the very survival of Canada Post as a national institution. The management of our national postal service has fallen under the spell of corporate MBAs who are obsessed with competing with Amazon — a retailer that does its own deliveries but only in urban areas. Canada Post still has to handle much of the rest. What could this possibly have to do with the delivery of people's mail? Canada Post proposes to have taxpayers pick up their own mail from Mulroney Mailboxes on every street corner, which will be delivered only every other day. Post offices in small towns nationwide will be closed, unserviced and ignored. The government appointed so-called 'impartial arbitrator' fully supports this and has revealed himself to have no concept of the service to which all Canadians are entitled and pay for.
The solution to the situation is obvious: abolish Canada Post's status as a crown corporation, which should never have been done in the first place. Does anybody care if the Armed Forces or the RCMP make money? They are priceless emblems of nationhood and so is a national postal service.
Door-to-door mail delivery is the very last tangible thing Canadians receive for their tax dollars on a daily basis. If they allow myopic politicians to take that away, it's gone forever, and our Canadian nationhood is cheapened yet again.
Frank MacKay, Scarborough
Canada's long traditions of British and French heritage are hard to describe, but they clearly exist
King Charles' throne speech delivery was lauded as inspired. But Carney still has to deal with this one issue the speech didn't address, May 28
I beg to differ with Allan Gregg's withering view of Prime Minister Mark Carney and the King.
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Rather than criticizing Carney for not relating to most Canadians, I would say that most people find him a good alternative to Pierre Poilievre. His calm, intelligent approach reassured many voters … and that sentiment continues.
Also, by inviting the King to give the throne speech, he provided Canadians a visual image of what and who we are as Canadians — distinctly not American.
As an immigrant myself, I find that often Canadians are unsure of what makes them different from Americans. The long traditions of British and French heritage are hard to describe, but they clearly exist.
When I immigrated from the U.S. in 1969, we visited Queen's Park. How strange it seemed to me that a choir sang 'God save the Queen.' It took me a while to listen to people who have survived the Blitz, lost relatives in world wars, and respect the monarchy.
I am not a monarchist, but I appreciate Carney's action to link us all to a long tradition that will help us keep 'the true north strong and free.'
Catherine Brown, Toronto
Thousands of excited Canadians greeted the King and Queen
Perhaps Allan Gregg should have experienced the wonderful and warm greetings the King and Queen received from thousands lining the streets of Ottawa on Tuesday before he offered his opinion. There were excited Canadians of all ages carrying our flag, arms outreaching and frequently rewarded with a personal connection. Comments about the King travelling on a private jet was a cheap shot. Every leader of a major country does so for security reasons.
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Rick Donaldson, Mississauga
Speaker's view is an unfortunate one for Canada
Parliament's new speaker says Canada must be 'Athens' to America's 'Rome', May 26
The new Speaker of the Canadian Parliament sees the U.S.-Canada situation in the same light as the Roman empire and the democracy of ancient Athens. That is unfortunate. The Romans destroyed Corinth in 146 BCE. Mainland Greece became subject to Rome. It was absorbed into the Roman Republic, and later into the Roman Empire. Perhaps history is about to repeat itself.
Peter Weygang, Bobcaygeon, ON