Sidewalk Labs wants to create a new transportation agency for its proposed “smart city” development in the Port Lands that would have the authority to set speed limits and manage traffic, among other powers that currently fall under the city’s jurisdiction. According to an eagerly awaited master plan Sidewalk released Monday detailing its futuristic but contentious development proposal, the hypothetical agency, which the company has dubbed the Waterfront Transportation Management Association (WTMA), would employ cutting-edge technology to efficiently advance transportation policies that are currently overseen by various municipal departments, or are too sophisticated to be on city hall’s radar at all.However, critics say the new agency would erode citizens’ democratic rights by removing the responsibility for transportation decisions from local elected officials. “Over my dead body,” said Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park), who has opposed numerous aspects of Sidewalk’s plans, of the WTMA idea. “Accountability to the public is greatly harmed ... This would further cement that distance between people that elect governments and the decisions that they make.” In its master plan, Sidewalk, a Manhattan-based sister company of tech giant Google, makes the case that the city’s current transportation planning is “piecemeal ... one entity oversees parking, another manages traffic signals, and yet another sets the price of transit rides.” Read more: Here are three of the biggest questions about the Sidewalk Labs plan for Toronto’s waterfrontA closer look at Villiers West — and why the area is central to Sidewalk Labs` plansOpinion | Ann Cavoukian: When we protect privacy, we give Torontonians the freedom to succeed — in Quayside and elsewhereBy contrast, the WTMA would be empowered to “seamlessly integrate diverse mobility options” within the limits ...
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