Trois-Rivières, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Longueuil: these are all cities whose highways are tearing up the urban fabric. These fast lanes have become essential for the transport of goods and movement as are the neurons in the brain. However, they illustrate particularly well the failure of urban planning in Quebec for at least sixty years. They are the result of the omnipotence of the automobile.
Even if active travel (cycling, walking, running, etc.) has a positive impact on physical and mental health and is an effective solution to combat climate change, the urban space devoted to vehicles is excessive in our cities.
Imagine, however, what can be done by removing portions of highways, or even entire sections. The solutions are not lacking, they abound: build thousands of social housing units to fight against the housing crisis; renovate and build new schools worthy of the XXIe century that do not look like a block of burnished concrete fallen from the sky; build lanes reserved for public transport over longer distances; develop beautiful and wide cycle paths that are safe and universally accessible, as is the case in Scandinavian countries; develop peaceful neighborhoods that allow children to play in the street without fear of being mowed down by a motorist who does not respect the speed limit. Moreover, the design of wide streets in urban centers favors higher speeds.
It is possible to considerably limit urban sprawl and apply densification, a concept that some elected officials describe as a “fashion”. Thus, we would promote the creation of eco-districts where life is good. Each meter of bitumen removed is a victory for quality of life, safety and the fight against climate change. We are short on space, and encroaching on our precious farmland is unimaginable. However, road infrastructure continues to occupy disproportionate parts of our cities.
A significant area of our urban environment is therefore neglected. Urban freeways, including elevated ones, have the potential to be transformed into resting places from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and foster more and better human interactions, according to a study. In addition, everyone’s mental health would be significantly improved due to the higher quality human interactions and all the documented benefits of green spaces on people’s overall health. Indeed, our mental health improves in the presence of parks and wooded areas within walking distance of our home.
Individuals are not equal on urban highways, however. In our American neighbor, Joe Biden wants to destroy the “highways of racism” which promote a form of segregation between the upper middle class on the one hand and the poor, black and working-class communities on the other. According to Health Canada, traffic-related air pollution, which represents the contribution of road vehicles to ambient air pollution, is present in places where traffic is dense, such as near highways and in urban centres.
In this sense, vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and people with low socioeconomic status are more likely to be to face the adverse health effects of air pollution. Logically, the wealthiest are therefore much less exposed to pollution because they have the means to live in peaceful neighbourhoods, far from the highways and where the presence of green spaces is certainly greater. They also have a stronger tendency to fight for their rights than others.
If we go further, there is an accepted form of discrimination in our cities, both here and elsewhere, since the highways pollute the lives of people living near these asphalt behemoths.
Fortunately, there are successful transformations, including several in the United States, such as the demolition of Harbor Drive in Portland, Oregon, which gave way to quality urban spaces along the river. There is also the transformation of the Riverfront Parkway in Chattanooga, Tennessee into an urban boulevard which has completely revitalized the area and stimulated the development of a dynamic urban fabric. The population has even grown by nearly 30% since 1990 due to the conversion of this road axis.
In short, we must no longer facilitate the mode of transportation that is causing our loss and degrading the mental and physical health of many of us.