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Global News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Global News
Ford considers widening ‘jammed up' Hwy. 407 East weeks after tolls were removed
Less than three months after removing tolls from the publicly-owned portion of Highway 407, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is considering expanding the now-clogged artery. At an unrelated event in Pickering, Ont., on Thursday, Ford said he was receiving a growing number of calls from frustrated drivers who had hopped onto the toll-free 407 east, only to find themselves stuck in gridlock. 'People are coming home from the cottage; it's getting pretty jammed up on there,' Ford said. 'But if it's jammed up there, I always say it must be taking congestion off another part, I guess the 401.' Ford's concerns about congestion came 10 weeks after his government removed tolls from the public portion of the 407, a move it promised would save drivers money and time. A news release promoting toll removal — which officially happened on June 1 — said getting rid of 407 tolls would 'help lower costs and fight gridlock.' Story continues below advertisement Weeks after that promise was made, however, Ford said he was considering expanding the route. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'So I think in the long term, we might have to look at — we'll work with the Ministry of Transportation and obviously the person that controls the money, Minister (Peter) Bethlenfalvy, to see if we can maybe add lanes on either side,' he said. 'So we're looking at a plan to lighten up the traffic.' Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the rapid speed at which Highway 407 east became congested proves the policy Ford wants to pursue won't work. 'When you build new highways or expand existing highways or remove road pricing from existing highways, it encourages more people to drive — it just leads to more gridlock,' he explained. 'That's exactly why this ridiculous idea of the tunnel under the 401 or building Highway 413 and paving over 2,000 acres of farmland, 400 acres of the Greenbelt, is not going to solve gridlock.' Over the past decade, Ontario has added a total of 134 km of new lanes to Highway 401 across the province. Despite the massive expansion, the crippling bottleneck at the centre of the highway worsened. Schreiner said he wasn't sure Ford understood induced demand — the phenomenon where adding more roads encourages driving and therefore congestion. Story continues below advertisement 'Not even for the premier, but for a lot of people, it just seems intuitive that if you build more highways, expand existing highways that that's going to solve gridlock,' he said. 'The reality is, it just creates an incentive for more people to drive and leads to more gridlock.'
Hamilton Spectator
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Green Party boss supports Dresden over landfill issue
Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner recently joined the chorus of voices opposed to the York1 Dresden landfill. The long-time environmental advocate made the commitment during a visit to the Dresden Legion where he spoke with farmers, members of Dresden C.A.R.E.D and other community leaders, urging the provincial government to repeal or 'kill' Bill 5. Schreiner called the controversial bill – which removes the environmental assessment from the Dresden project and greenlight others – one the scariest pieces of legislation he's ever seen. 'I'm deeply concerned that the government can declare special economic zones anywhere in Ontario they want to,' Schreiner told the gathering, noting the creation of such zones could contravene a host of environmental protections. 'I've never seen anything so undemocratic be proposed in Ontario, or even across Canada,' he said of Bill 5. 'This is not what local democracy is supposed to look like. There's nothing there to prevent the premier from declaring Dresden as a special economic zone in order to proceed regardless of what local and provincial laws say,' he warned, noting Bill 5 must be undone. 'I want you to know that I am committed to working with you, and parties in the opposition have agreed to stand up for Dresden. We're all committed to working together, to stand up for what's right, to stand up and say that if you're a deep-pocketed donor, you shouldn't get special treatment.' The fight against the York1 Dresden dump/regenerative recycling facility proposal is entering its 17th month. Since the project was revealed, momentum against it has been building. In June, the Ontario government passed Bill 5, which notably removed the EA for the Dresden project located just steps from a waterway and one kilometre from the town's high school. In his comments, Schreiner repeatedly stressed that better policies need to be in place to regarding landfills with existing permits, emphasizing there are hundreds of these in Ontario. He also took issue with the fact the York1 Dresden project was specifically named in Bill 5. 'Communities need to be confident that existing landfills (like Dresden's)' cannot be re-opened,' he said. Members of Dresden C.A.R.E.D. said they want Ford to come to Dresden to see what a bad idea the Dresden project is. ''We need to get him down here so we can show him how dumb this idea is,' group member Rob Simpson told Schreiner. In response to a comment from the crowd that Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault was put in a tough position over Bill 5, Schreiner said Pinsonneault had the opportunity to leave the Progressive Conservatives and speak out as an independent. 'Steve's more than welcome to come over to our corner of the legislature where you can vote how the people want you to vote,' Schreiner explained. His comment was met with applause. Pinsonneault's absence from the Bill 5 vote and from local meetings regarding the dump have been roundly criticized by the community. Schreiner joins Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles in the fight against Bill 5. Stiles paid a visit to Dresden two weeks ago to shore up support against the York1 project and launch the province-wide Kill Bill 5 initiative. Schreiner was also on hand on the morning of July 13 to offer words of encouragement for those who took part in a symbolic relay paddle. Led by members of the First Nations community, participants paddled to carry sacred water along the Sydenham River from Dresden to Wallaceburg, a stretch of the river that could be severely impacted if the dump becomes a reality. A sacred fire, also burned at a site near Molly's Creek for four days as part of a peaceful protest to bring awareness to Dresden's plight and the need for environmental protections. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
