Enough With the Planning, it's Time for Some Doing

This column from the Globe and Mail expresses some common frustrations with a slow-moving regional transportation plan.

1 minute read

September 28, 2008, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"The fact that it will take a generation at least to evaluate the merit of the province's vastly ambitious, $50-billion regional transportation plan - assuming it is adopted in anything near the form presented yesterday by Metrolinx, the agency that devised it - is no criticism. Long-term planning is both necessary for any work of this scale and, in its way, heroic - something that only the most advanced, stable societies can even contemplate, let alone stick with for as long as it takes to pay off.

So let's hear it for planning - in 20 years time, when it is ready to be judged.

In the meantime, it would be nice to see a little doing. There can be little hope for the big picture in the long term if local politicians continue to shy away from concrete, immediate initiatives needed to create alternatives to car travel.

Last year the city promised a renewed push to build the bicycle lanes it promised in a long neglected plan. But even that late push is now stalling in the face of trivial opposition. It makes you wonder: Does painting new lines on roads to indicate a discontinuous network of easily blockable bicycle lanes actually change anything? Or is it just an inexpensive way to feed the appetite for green policy without upsetting the status quo?"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 in Globe and Mail

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight