A recent letter referred to the City of Victoria’s proposal to reduce parking requirements as “social engineering.” In fact, the opposite is true.

The definition of social engineering is to use centralized planning to regulate the future development and behaviour of society. Forcing developers to include a specific amount of parking in their buildings, regardless of the actual need — as Victoria and most cities have been doing for decades — is the true social engineering.

This has played a key role in creating the auto-dependent landscape in which most of us are forced to live because there are so few other choices.

Under the proposed changes, ­developers will still be able to provide parking if they wish: They just won’t be forced to provide arbitrary amounts that aren’t needed in every location. I’m glad to see that the city is moving towards a system that will allow the market to decide how much parking to provide.

Susanne Deacon

Victoria

There is no real “alternative transport” for most people. Yes, I rode my bike to work 10 or 11 months of the year when weather permitted — on errands, just to and fro — but bus service for any errands, shopping trips or even visiting friends is not only insufficient for it to be an option but also takes too long to be acceptable.

Roger Love

Saanich

I, too, contacted the District of Saanich and spoke with someone in charge of roads, etc., and mentioned the dangers regarding the crosswalks going through Mount Douglas Park.

This was many years ago and the problem still exists. I have read with interest the recent letters to the editor and thought I would add my concerns.

Hopefully a blinking light will be added to make crossing the road safe.

K.E. Howard

Saanich

School zones make sense. Drop the speed to 30 km/h during school hours — kids are safer. Playground zones? 30 km/h from dawn to dusk. Clear, simple, effective.

But Greater Victoria’s traffic calming has spun out of control.

What began as a safety measure has become a maze of speed humps, bollards, lane diversions and shifting limits that frustrate drivers, jolt transit riders, and slow emergency vehicles.

Consistency? Forget it. Side streets are 30 km/h, main........

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