Questionable decisions put coffers and safety at risk

Re: Crumbling Waterloo facing tax agony — March 19

When observing from afar, one sees things that may escape those immediately involved.

The funds put aside for future infrastructure repairs seem to have disappeared. We need to look at what has been done wrong and stop future needless funding. Waterloo decided to convert a newly built four-lane Ira Needles Boulevard to two lanes plus cycling lanes. This was found to be the wrong decision and required the rebuild of the street. Fischer-Hallman Boulevard, on the other hand, has been blessed with multi-use trails that accommodate cyclists and pedestrians with safety in mind.

Great. It seems that there have been decisions made to convert the Twin Cities into an Amsterdam-like community. An abundance of cycling lanes at the cost of choking vehicular traffic and many roundabouts at costs in excess of $1 million each. This may appear to be nirvana to the cyclists, but at what cost? How many years will it take for a roundabout to break even when compared to operating a traffic light?

An additional item is the large quantity of traffic-calming devices around both cities. The first concern is the cost. The more important issue is that emergency services have to avoid those streets. The latest example in my neighbourhood at Doon South Drive and Windrush Trail is the reduction of four lanes to two at a point where people make a left turn to enter Windrush Trail. This location is waiting for accidents to happen. There are more examples throughout the cities. Michael Mohr Kitchener