As many of you are aware, the Bank Street Bus Lanes have been approved in council on Monday. Kudos to all the advocacy efforts that went into it! I watched each and every delegate deliver inspiring speeches to council. Bravo!
HOWEVER, what's approved was too small and too slow. The plan only affects small segments of Bank and only to be launched in the summer of 2027. That means riders impacted by Bank St have to suffer one more year! And what about the rest of the city!
The actions to improve is not matching the scale of the crisis. 70 million ridership continue to suffer the broken system on a daily basis. There is an enormous impact to safety, economy, and environment. Plus many invisible impacts behind people's everyday commuting decisions.
We are still far from the desired state of Public Transit. We have the data. We have the experts. We have the solutions. So what is the missing link? Willpower. We need to elect leaders determined to take action urgently. Convince them if they are not.
What we want is immediate action. We can not tolerate another winter frostbite or another job loss. We ask for an Emergency Declaration.
In Canada, a state of emergency can be triggered in the face of severe disruptions. We have seen it declared on Freedom convoy, pandemic, natural disasters. Situations where human health, safety, welfare are threatened. A dysfunctional Public Transit impacting thousands of livelihoods is clearly an Emergency.
In an Emergency Declaration, under the Ontario Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, the government has the power to do the following.
- Expending funds outside of regular budgetary approval processes to address the emergency.
- Fixing prices for necessary goods, services and resources
- Re-deploy staff to critical services, even if this overrides existing collective agreements, to ensure essential services continue.
The declaration allows for faster decision-making and better access to funding. I believe we have a case to be made here. The mayor must make the call. Once we reach 1000 signatures, I will delegate in council meetings and write to the mayor.
I need your help to do outreach. I encourage you to share the petition to your schools, workplaces, community centers, newspapers editors, and city councillors. Share your story in the comment section.
P.S. We have been featured in the front page of Manor Park Chronicle! I cannot express my gratitude enough for your engagement.
Zhang