"Pollution from highways and major roads causes premature death and illness across Canada. The solutions aren’t complicated, but the pandemic has made public health resources even more scarce".
"The air pollution flowing from vehicle exhaust pipes and the breakdown of rubber tires hangs over Toronto-area highways like a mostly invisible cloud.
That’s especially true in communities along Highway 401 — the section passing through Toronto is the busiest highway in North America, packed every day with both commuters and commercial trucks. But it applies in other places too. Astride the Gardiner Expressway, mostly bare balconies hang a stone’s throw from the gridlock. And along the Don Valley Parkway, apartment towers overlook rush hour. In many cases, lower income and marginalized communities bear the brunt of the health impacts, ranging from asthma to premature death.
That on its own isn’t a shocking revelation, said Sarah Buchanan, campaigns director at the non-profit Toronto Environmental Alliance. The finding has been confirmed by study after study. The issue is that no one ever seems to do anything about it. There was a flurry of attention around the problem at Toronto City Council in the 2010s, she noted, but it didn’t really go anywhere."
