Industry benefits by funding barriers

Re The tripping point, Aug. 26 Everyone seems to recognize the benefits of subway barriers: suicide prevention, reduction of murder opportunities by troubled people, the reduction of delays from “smoke at track level,” injuries to those with disabilities, random accidents and even the discomfort of the wind blasts though the subway stations (if full height barriers were in place). However, there is the continual moan about the cost.

But this is an infrastructure cost, and so it’s a gift that keeps giving. Calculate the cost of all those delays and the human toll that not acting implies. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, travel delays across Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver cost Canadians thousands of hours annually. Travel delays represent a huge cost to business and industry in the GTA alone.

Isn’t it time for industry to step up and help defray the cost of making Toronto more efficient and more livable?

During the ozone depletion crisis, the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) industry decided research was needed to save their industry. So they created the Alternative Fluorocarbons Environmental Acceptability Study. All producers contributed to the cost in proportion to their sales. Perhaps businesses could come together in enlightened self-interest and fund a venture to reduce travel times. We would all benefit. Tom McElroy, Toronto