Auditor General Report Confirms that the Bradford Bypass is a Boondoggle
Media Statement
From: Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, Forbid Roads Over Greenspaces, Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and Concerned Citizens of King Township
Simcoe County, ON – On November 30th, the Auditor General of Ontario – an independent officer of the legislature who is tasked with ensuring government spending and programs give Ontarians best value and efficiency – outlined the ballooning costs of the Bradford Bypass and how best practices were not being followed. We’ve been saying this all along.
Internal Ministry estimates show that the Bypass could cost as much as $4 billion dollars. This is a 400% increase from the original budget that the Minister of Transportation begrudgingly announced publicly in 2021 after we demanded transparency around costs of the project. We know from internal documents that the Ministry has known their estimate was a lowball since at least November 2021 and yet there has been no effort that we’ve seen to update municipal partners, local stakeholders or the public about this important piece of information.
The Auditor General also noted that at this point, the Ministry does not have the money to fulfil all of its highway promises. This begs the question of when this project will ever be fully delivered if a cash-strapped Ministry has to start making hard choices about which projects proceed. We have asked when this highway will be completed and ready for use, but again, the answers aren’t forthcoming.
The Bradford Bypass has been sold as a traffic solution. Worryingly, the Auditor General found that travel demand forecasts calculated by consultants are not verified by the Ministry or by independent experts. Despite internal reports that show the Bypass will be congested after construction and that congestion will worsen on highways 400 and 404, the province continues to intentionally mislead Ontarians using unverified traffic studies.
Let’s be clear – the Bradford Bypass was just the first step in opening up huge swaths of land for Greenbelt developers and more sprawl development. The studies they are now doing have been streamlined to a point of being meaningless while other important studies such as impacts to Lake Simcoe and climate are not being done. Protections for our wetlands and waterways have been all but gutted due to Bill 23. Another 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt is slated to be removed to allow speculators to further cash in. The vision that developers want for this region is coming into view and the expense of public health and public funds.
Altogether the province has produced a flimsy case for building this highway. The groups fighting the Bypass are asking for a transparent reconsideration of routes, including regional road improvements, that could reduce costs, provide congestion relief and lower environmental impacts. In all, this provides value for money for taxpayers. Further, we question spending $4 billion on a highway amid healthcare and education sector crises.
Lake Simcoe Watch recently released the results of a November 2022 Oraclepoll survey shows that public support for the Bradford Bypass highway (one-third of which traverses Greenbelt Protected Countryside) has fallen to a weak 20 per cent while 61 percent are opposed. The same survey shows that support for building homes on the Greenbelt is only 27 per cent.
For media inquiries please contact: Margaret Prophet, Executive Director, SCGC
705-718-1383 email: margaret@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca
Background:
Auditor General Report on Highways:https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en22/AR_ProvHighways_en22.pdf
Excerpts from the AG report specific to Bradford Bypass: Notes from AG report
Questions posed by SCGC on Dec 1 2022
This statement is timely considering today’s Ministry announcement in Bradford. Clearly this media event is an attempt at changing the channel away from the damning evidence outlined in yesterday’s AG report about the Bradford Bypass specifically and the Ministry’s approach to highways in general.
We have questions that are in the public interest that have never been answered:
- How long has your Ministry known that the potential cost of the Bradford Bypass ($4B) would increase up to 400% of your original estimate and when were you planning to notify the public?
- When will your Ministry commit to having the traffic studies on the Bradford Bypass independently verified factoring in induced demand and transit alternatives?
- Why did you choose to go against your own Ministry engineers and traffic experts that said this project wasn’t ready for implementation as outlined in the AG report?
- Can you explain why there aren’t any legal obligations for MTO to meet specific air quality standards or greenhouse gas emission targets for this project especially since the highway’s emission will impact nearby homes, public spaces and our climate?
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