I took a trip on a new thoroughfare today and it was a really depressing trip. The ride was quick and uneventful. I made amazing time. I drove from Grimsby to the Hamilton Mountain in minutes. I had been avoiding this new expressway as a silent protest. But today, with the pressures of Christmas shopping looming over me, I decided to drive on the Red Hill Valley Expressway.

When I started running in high school on the cross country team, we ran in this valley. It had nice trails that looped through hills. There was a nice waterfall coming off of the escarpment as well. It remained one of my favourite places to run anywhere. I absolutely loved this valley. Now it has a highway running through it.

Apparently the city “needed” this thoroughfare and maybe it did. Although, we did live without it before, and we had a great green space that ran from the escarpment all the way down to the Queen Elizabeth Way. It was beautiful.

I could still see the beauty today as I drove through it, but it wasn’t the same as walking or running through it. I think we have lost something really valuable here and that we won’t ever get it back. It’s sad.

Of course the highway is now here. It links up the expressway on the mountain to the main 400 series of highways in Southern Ontario. It is a vital link in infrastructure.

Perhaps it is a necessary evil, although today I think that that is only half right. But ignoring it and not using it won’t do any good. At least we still have Princess Point and the Royal Botanical Gardens here. Hopefully we won’t pave over any more of our beautiful green space. That is my Christmas wish.