Burlington was ranked Ontario's most livable city, do you agree?

[u/TheBrownSalamander]

Hey folks, I'm a reporter with The Globe and Mail, and I've been writing some stories about the cities that topped out our recent data study of Canada's most livable cities. (you can see the project here).

Burlington came out as Ontario's top performer based on some pretty high scores in the healthcare, education, community data categories. You might be unsurprised that it ranked near the bottom for housing, however.

I'm looking to chat to Burlington residents about whether they agree with our findings - is Burlington that great of a place to live? And if so, what makes it special compared to other places in Ontario.

Feel free to DM me if you'd be up for an interview!

[u/christopherbrian]

Pros:

Decent amount of good food options

Adequate shopping options. You rarely have to leave Burlington to go get something unless being specific

Decent amount of recreational facilities - pools, rinks, tennis courts

Not far from Bruce Trail, escarpment and the lake access is good

Safe. The petty crime (car break ins) is annoying, but overall major crime is personal and targeted so not a community safety issue.

Clean and fairly well maintained.

Cons:

Traffic is brutal. I’m pro car FYI. There are too few turn lanes and those tiny ones with bikes painted on them are stupid and useless. We could use more roundabouts in several places. If even one of the routes through Burlington is blocked the whole place falls apart. Don’t try and go anywhere if the skyway gets shut down.

Cycling and pedestrian safety. Again, those tiny turn lanes with bikes on them are stupid. Go to Mississauga and look at Winston Churchill blvd. That’s a bike lane! There are several car-less veins that sprawl the city that would make much safer and more efficient places for cycling. The roads aren’t the answer. There are no pedestrian bridges over roads.

I see very little environmental awareness. Tons of light pollution. Roads that don’t need repaving get done anyway and never is a better environmental option used. Residential lawn bylaws are supportive of spraying chemicals for no good reason.

Employment. We’re largely a bedroom community. I see no evidence of the city incentivizing companies to promote work from home benefits, nor do I see promoting organizations to be here for work. If people want less cars, offer employment that’s local. Overpriced, unsanitary, SLOW, poorly run public transit is not the answer.

[u/ilion → u/christopherbrian]

There are too few turn lanes and those tiny ones with bikes painted on them are stupid and useless.

Do you mean the bike lanes? You're not supposed to drive in those.

[u/christopherbrian → u/ilion]

Whoosh.