It is with disappointment that we learned of the budget presented this week by the Quebec government. For the first time in 10 years, no announcement concerns the development of active mobility. Walking and cycling are simple solutions to complex societal challenges!
Posted yesterday at 12:00 p.m.
As the government sets itself the goal of “dealing with the rising cost of living”, active transportation is a credible option to reduce the financial burden on families. Travel is the second item of household expenditure. However, 36% of Quebecers live less than 5 km from their work, and this proportion reaches 44% or more in medium-sized cities. Active transportation is therefore a simple and accessible solution that can help reduce the cost of living.
Not to mention that walking and cycling can be combined and increase the efficiency of public transit tenfold, provided that safety and comfort are ensured for these active trips. Unfortunately, municipalities testify that the demand of citizens for environments conducive to walking and cycling is very real, but that the existing financial programs are insufficient to create them.
Selective eco-taxation
Improving our environmental record will not happen without radically changing the way we get around: transportation is the primary source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Quebec. Far from decreasing, emissions from this sector continue to increase, thanks to urban sprawl and the proliferation of light trucks. The objective set by the government to reduce by 20% the share of solo car travel nationally seems increasingly illusory, and the budget presented contains nothing to support this objective.
On the one hand, the infrastructure investment ratio still leans heavily in favor of the road network, at 70%, to the detriment of public transit.
As members of the TRANSIT alliance, we remind the government of its commitment to reduce this ratio to 50-50, and reiterate that a moratorium must apply to any addition of road capacity, even disguised as an addition of lanes reserved for public transport.
On the other hand, the government demonstrates a selective ecofiscal approach when the time comes to encourage Quebecers to change their travel habits: it relies only on the electrification of personal cars. In 2022, it is time to introduce a fee-rebate system that would make it possible to self-finance subsidies for electric bicycles and to devote the necessary sums to investments in structuring and collective solutions: infrastructures and incentive measures for active transport and collective.
High challenges, high expectations
In the coming weeks, we will closely monitor the announcements to come under the Plan for a Green Economy, for which an increase of $1 billion has been announced, as well as the next action plan for the Sustainable Mobility Policy and the renewal of programs traditionally dedicated to active transportation infrastructures.
If our expectations seem high, it is because our challenges are just as high. Investments in active mobility represent a tiny portion of our public expenditure, but offer us excellent returns on investment in terms of health, the environment and purchasing power. We cannot afford to deprive ourselves of it.