Ease the traffic squeeze

The challenge

Gridlock on Lakeshore Road, Brant Street and Fairview Street has made daily commuting a daily headache for Ward 2 residents.

The City's current mobility plans push a one-size-fits-all active transportation model onto a suburban, car-dependent municipality. Converting primary vehicular lanes into dedicated bicycle lanes has reduced roadway capacity without providing a realistic transit alternative. In Canadian winters those lanes sit underused for months while idling vehicles back up, spilling commuter traffic into quiet residential neighbourhoods and safety zones.

It also overlooks Ward 2's large senior population — many of whom rely on personal vehicles or specialised transit to reach healthcare and essential services.

$35 million is scheduled. None of it starts before 2029.

The City's 2026 budget schedules about $35 million of roadwork across eight Ward 2 projects — Locust, Elizabeth, John, James, Martha, Lakeshore, Plains Road East and North Shore Boulevard.

Construction on every one of them begins between 2029 and 2031. I want those fixes delivered faster, not left to slip further.

The practical solution

• Protect primary roadway capacity on major arterial streets And move cycling infrastructure to safe, dedicated off-road boulevard paths and greenway trails, where people will actually use it year-round.
• Dynamic smart traffic signal optimisation Along key corridors, to keep traffic moving. This is proven technology and it is cheap relative to concrete.
• Expand specialised transit for seniors Handi-Van capacity, shorter booking lead times, and dedicated senior micro-shuttles giving older residents direct, reliable access to medical centres and commercial hubs.
• Take residential cut-through seriously Squeezed arterials push commuter traffic onto quiet streets with children on them. That is a safety issue, and it should be measured and managed.

The legal angle

Transportation planning is governed by complex administrative law, municipal right-of-way regulations, and inter-jurisdictional agreements. As a practising lawyer I have the statutory background to audit local traffic bylaws, scrutinise Environmental Assessments, and negotiate directly with Halton Region and the Ministry of Transportation to resolve corridor bottlenecks and secure regional infrastructure investment.

And every new highrise downtown means more cars on the same roads — which is exactly why growth needs to go where the infrastructure already is. More on that →

Sources: City of Burlington 2026 Budget, Ward 2 capital projects as compiled by BurlingtonToday, 23 March 2026.