Brampton mayor defends decision to reverse course on Williams Parkway despite the financial cost

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Published December 4, 2020 at 4:03 pm

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is defending the City’s call to abandon the widening of Williams Parkway, saying a shift in public attitude towards the environment and health is behind the decision.

City council abruptly cancelled the project recently even though $14 million has already been spent preparing for the reconstruction which would have widened the road from four to six lanes. The move has prompted cries of political indecisiveness from those on social media, with some suggesting the flip-flop reveals a muddled vision for the City’s long-term traffic strategy that desperately needs efficient traffic flow because of growth.

Still, the mayor said modern realities need to be considered.

“This new council is taking a different approach,” Brown told inbrampton.com. “We believe that active transportation needs to be incorporated, we believe we need to look at the environmental footprints. Cities are built for people, not just for cars.”

The mayor pointed out the original concept to widen Williams Parkway came at a time years ago when the car ruled the road. He said today residents want to be able to bike and walk along routes, not only for their health, but to also to adhere to a greener society.

“If we wanted to go the same way we always go, doing things by creating more concrete roads and more of the same suburbia (we could have done that), but that’s not our intention,” Brown continued. “We want to create a different quality of life in our community.”

Brown said issues like this one test the resolve of council, which he believes is necessary forward thinking. We said council wants to make sure to build active transportation into the City’s transit planning.

“That means places to walk, to run, to cycle,” he said adding that active transportation means a healthier society. “I think the environmental legacy we are leaving to the next generation is pretty powerful.”

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