Context
Alberta is a conservative Canadian province that is rich because they extract a lot of oil. The Alberta Government opposes all measures that could reduce oil-production or oil consumption.
For instance, when the Canadian Federal Government tried to take measures to reduce plastics pollution, the Alberta Government publically protested.
Calgary is the largest city in Alberta. The city has a traffic violence problem. Data shows it has the worse road deaths and injuries rate of any major Canadian city.
Jyoti Gondek, the Mayor of Calgary, recently suggested building more safe bike lanes to reduce car dependency. A few days later, her office received this warning letter
Dear Mx Dreeshen,
In regards to your last letter, I believe I wholeheartedly understand your concerns.
Your letter helped open my eyes to the error in our plans for the city and thus we shall no longer proceed to install our planned dedicated bicycle lanes.
You are correct that we must deal with the increasing demand for access to our great city.
Therefore we shall be announcing vast improvements to our road structure in the form of increased public transport services, dedicated bus-only routes, additional pedestrianised streets in major shopping areas, and even a couple of tram routes, on top of the bicycle lanes laid out in our original plan - all thanks to your wonderful letter!
Get wrecked you spineless automotive shill.
With love,
Jyoti Gondek
Politicians sponsored by the fossil lobby are the norm, even outside pressure from USA (via ambassadors, state visits, bilateral agreements and extortions, or again lobbyists) is normal.
It’s present all over Europe as well tho it’s (gotten?) weaker.
The Paris evidence is right there for anyone to look at. Everything works, people get to where they need to be on time, AND the air toxicity has plummeted year on year. Excess and avaoidable deaths reduced.
It’s almost like being a conservative makes you a shitty and evil person and you fuck up wherever you are at.
Other way around.
Tomatoe, tomato.
This is not mildly infuriating but an example of extreme stupidity or, more likely, the result of corruption.
This is definitely to ensure continued reliance on oil and gas.
They could use the inside lane of the four lanes on 4th Ave for a bike lane and a lot of their traffic problem would be gone without anyone missing anything. That would be constructive w/o construction tho.
Throw in dedicated bus lanes with priority at lights and then you’re cooking.
For Lemmings from other areas, it doesn’t read like a warning, exactly, but in the context of what
the Alberta governmentliterally this minster has been doing it kind of is.Edit: Didn’t notice this is signed Devin Dreeshen.
You don’t need to know anything about Alberta or the region. This is just how politicians talk.
If this was about honest concerns he would have addressed why the city plans to build bike lanes. Instead he just talks about “tax dollars” and increasing capacity for “all citizens”. Which shows that he has a complete disregard for the existence of citizens who do not take a car for every small move.
increasing capacity for “all citizens”
The law, in its majestic equality, enables the rich as well as the poor to drive their luxury vehicles everywhere.
Wipe your ass with that.
As demonstrated in Montreal, Toronto, Paris (France), Netherlands (pick any city), Berlin, San Francisco, and every other place that takes transportation seriously, you have to degrow car-centric infrastructure to build people moving infrastructure, including bike lanes.
The growing urban population needs to find more sustainable ways to get around, because you can never satisfy car-centric infrastructure. “One more lane, bro” isn’t an actual solution to anything.
Mayor should write back, “Thanks for the letter.” And then continue according to plan.
This government has blown up one Calgary transport plan already (they’re literally building two halves that don’t enter downtown at all now), so that may or may not be wise. Cities don’t really have constitutional protections in Canada or Alberta.
I hope she crumpled it up, then reconsidered, uncrumpled, took the photo, and then presumably recrumpled it before throwing it away.
Edit: Regendered
May she have used it as toilet paper
She built a paper plane out of it.
She
Fixed ty
As if increasing bicycle throughput isn’t increasing vehicle throughput. They’re vehicles, and can probably achieve a higher passenger density than individual cars can on a city street.
No ,no, the letter specifically singles out motor vehicles. Burning gas is the point. This letter has nothing to do with transporting people.
Shameful. Must have been a nice bribe!
Based on this I can only imagine they must have full throated support of the green line which would reduce intra-city traffic to allow for greater available capacity for provincial traffic.
Let’s read this study about how adding more lanes and roads just makes more congestion, not less and how car alternatives are needed for the future of transportation to arrive. Like, oh I don’t know, Bike lanes and increased Public Transit infrastructure. Now, let’s throw it in the Garbage and go back to what we’ve been doing unsuccessfully for the past 75 years.
- This Guy ☝️
