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Re: "South Kingsway-Queensway ramps to remain" article, July 9 .

I am the "Toronto Urban Renewal Network (TURN) representative that doesn't live in the area." However, my home is located closer to the interchange than Councillor Saundercook's constituency office. But no matter where we live or work, shouldn't we be interested in making our entire city and the planet a better place? It is a pity that, at a time when cities around the world are becoming more connected and global in their outlook, Toronto's neighbourhood groups and their councillors are becoming more insular.

Global is the perspective that TURN brought to the EYCC meeting to counter these attitudes that harkens back to the 1950's when the interchange was built. Though we presented multi-faceted issues of design, policy, finances, design, social equity and governance as interchange problems, Saundercook focussed his comments for the most part on public consultation that happened from 2005 to 2007 (there were only four poorly advertised public meetings involving city staff - not ten as quoted in article). He, city staff and the other EYCC councillors ignored TURN's petition of 700 names which supported the City's original link road proposal, the 20 letters submitted last week by those who couldn't attend the EYCC meeting in person and the lack of a promised city mail drop advertising the meeting.

Beside the fact that the EYCC politicians had already chosen the SKQI status quo before any of us took the stand, the most disappointing realization is that councillors have no resolve to actually implement official plan, bike plan, climate change plan, transit plan and pedestrian policies that they themselves have approved. Although they could have been true leaders by proposing a bold SKQI design that saved money in the long term and took into account the needs of future generations of Torontonians, they chose to simply stick their heads in the asphalt and leave it up to those same future generations to pay much more later - financially, environmentally and socially.

Marty Collier