[nfitz]

The City does NOT have the power to toll highways - not even the ones it owns. Under the COTA, that requires a regulation from provincial Cabinet.

The COTA certainly considers the possibility that the City of Toronto will be tolling highways. Yes, Ontario would have to agree and cabinet would have to put a regulation in place ... but nothing unusual about that. And no requirement that it be reviewed by the legislature. If Toronto seriously proposed tolls, the government of Ontario would be hard-pressed to not rubber stamp them if they appeared reasonable.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

From The Star, at this link:

A Conservative government in Ontario could spell the end of Metrolinx

Tory Leader Tim Hudak told reporters Monday his government would look at the viability of the controversial provincial transit agency as it looks for ways to dramatically cut costs in the province.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak says the future of Metrolinx could be in doubt if the Progressive Conservatives form the next government.

Hudak told reporters Monday his government would look at the viability of the controversial provincial transit agency, created in 2006, as it looks for ways to dramatically cut costs in the province.

“If something is just out there as some arm of government for propaganda and not achieving a purpose for jobs, we should shut those things down,” he said when ask if Metrolinx could be on his hit list.

That list includes the electricity planning agency, Ontario Power Authority and Local Health Integrate Networks (LHINs), which the Tories say waste $300 million each a year.

As recently as a year ago, Hudak was calling for Metrolinx to assume an expanded role by taking over the Toronto Transit Commission. He said only then could it create a “seamless world-class” transit system.

Hudak also said his government would scrap the bonuses for senior personnel at the Toronto’s 2015 Pan Am Games, which could reach $7 million.

Hudak told reporters that it’s time Premier Kathleen Wynne started making some tough decisions — not more consultations — as the province wrestles with unemployment and staggering debt.

“Enough conversation; it’s time for action,” he said.

Among other things, Metrolinx has recommended raising taxes or imposing tolls to raise money for badly needed transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.

Hudak said while the Tories have been working away on 14 policy papers, the minority Liberal government has chosen instead to appoint blue ribbon panels or committees to come up with ways to make government work.

“She is welcome to steal all or any aspects of (our) plan as long as something finally gets done to help people of the province,” he said. “I’m starting to wonder … if they even have a plan at all.”

“I’m tired of Ontario going backwards, I’m tired of seeing talent leave our province, I’m tired of the Liberals drifting while we lose jobs to other states and provinces,” the PC leader said.

Tory MPP Vic Fedeli, the party’s finance critic, said the Liberals are spending $9 billion more per year than the province takes in, a number that could reach $12 billion next year. “We are at serious risk of another credit downgrade.”

Fedeli said the Tories would reduce the deficit “a billion at a time.”

Shows to me at least the current anti-transit views of the PC’s and their supports under Hudak.

Meanwhile, there is a Transit Investment Strategy Advisory Panel at this link, you might be interested in. They have a PDF, at this link, on The Hard Truths About Transit:

The Toronto region now ranks as the worst performer in Canada in moving people to and from work and is near the bottom of global rankings. For the past several decades our investments in the region’s public transit have not kept pace with economic and population growth.This paper, the first of three leading up to the consultation phase of our work, aims at adding clarity to the debate by establishing six hard truths.
- See more at: http://www.transitpanel.ca/news#sthash.usgIPI2S.dpuf

 

[Adjei]

Transit planning in Toronto is useless. Whether Metrolinx exists or not, transit in Toronto will always be half baked. Now to all those who think somehow getting rid of Metrolinx will free up money to build transit, keep deluding yourself.

 

[TOareaFan]

From The Star, at this link:



Shows to me at least the current anti-transit views of the PC’s and their supports under Hudak.

Meanwhile, there is a Transit Investment Strategy Advisory Panel at this link, you might be interested in. They have a PDF, at this link, on The Hard Truths About Transit:

I think you can be pro transit and still question the worth/viability of ML. While central/regional planning is a good thing and needs based decision making is also......if it is all a sham and when the wheels hit the tracks the plans/decisions get usurped by local politicians at vote gathering time...what is the point? Where in all the ML documentation leading up to, and in support of, was the plan for the RT being replaced by a subway? That particular battle now seems to be moving to Sheppard East and the other planned LRTs in Toronto.

What, also, has been the value of the work they did (multi-year work) on the investment strategy....all that work on coming up with recommendations to the government on how to fund the The Big Move and it is now in the hands of another panel.

So, they were formed to do, basically, two things.....devise a regional transit plan and find ways to fund it. They are being usurped on both fronts.

I am not saying Hudak and the PCs are pro transit...but it is possible to be pro transit and question the money spent on ML if we are going to just shelve their work beside so many previous grand transit plans.

 

[Adjei]

From The Star, at this link:



Shows to me at least the current anti-transit views of the PC’s and their supports under Hudak.

Meanwhile, there is a Transit Investment Strategy Advisory Panel at this link, you might be interested in. They have a PDF, at this link, on The Hard Truths About Transit:

It's funny for Hudak to criticize Metrolinx. What is his plan for transit? It's funny to sit on the sidelines and criticize others but what plan does he have? Read the reports, we are at the bottom not just in North America but globally in moving people to and from work. Instead of coming with a sensible plan this clown brings up the subway only only nonsense put forward by Rob Ford. We also how Rob Ford was able to pay for all the subways he promised through being efficient in government. This genius proposes the exact same plan as Rob Ford.

 

[rbt]

I think you can be pro transit and still question the worth/viability of ML. While central/regional planning is a good thing and needs based decision making is also......if it is all a sham and when the wheels hit the tracks the plans/decisions get usurped by local politicians at vote gathering time...what is the point? Where in all the ML documentation leading up to, and in support of, was the plan for the RT being replaced by a subway? That particular battle now seems to be moving to Sheppard East and the other planned LRTs in Toronto.

When TTC was planning Transit City, they had a ton of staff. As Metrolinx took over those responsibilities, many of those staff were transferred so now Metrolinx is large.

My point is that whatever agency is planning transit will have a minimum number of required staff per project. The level of staffing isn't going to change unless funding is pulled and we stop that line of work; whether it's Metrolinx, TTC, GO, or MTO.

 

[TOareaFan]

When TTC was planning Transit City, they had a ton of staff. As Metrolinx took over those responsibilities, many of those staff were transferred so now Metrolinx is large.

My point is that whatever agency is planning transit will have a minimum number of required staff per project. The level of staffing isn't going to change unless funding is pulled and we stop that line of work; whether it's Metrolinx, TTC, GO, or MTO.

Is it/has it been a one for one shift? ML has, what, 260 employees? Has there been a reduction at TTC and other transit agencies in the region of a similar amount? I don't know the answers but I just think that things like this are worth looking at....particularly if we are just going to ignore the work/recommendations of ML anyway.

 

[rbt]

Is it/has it been a one for one shift? ML has, what, 260 employees? Has there been a reduction at TTC and other transit agencies in the region of a similar amount? I don't know the answers but I just think that things like this are worth looking at....particularly if we are just going to ignore the work/recommendations of ML anyway.

It wasn't all at once because there are a number of projects with varying responsibilities and timelines. Many of the employees were contractors who's term was simply ended on TTC payroll and a new contract tendered by Metrolinx which they easily won due to having previous project knowledge.

Metrolinx has thousands of people working for them at any given time. The SRT project alone had about 150 people working on it ($85M for EA/design over a few years). They've gone contract heavy because they don't believe funding/expansion will be permanent so their full-time payroll count is small. If investment was continuous, it would be cheaper to bring the contractors in-house.

The simple answer is that TTC scaled down their capital projects staff (project management, engineers, architects, etc.) and Metrolinx has scaled theirs up.

Ultimately, the amount of staff required for capital projects depends on the scope of the capital projects and funding for them is included in that capital project.


I assume Hudak is including all staff covered by Metrolinx's budget (on payroll and contracted) because shutting down Metrolinx (split off GO, handing capital expansion to MTO) isn't going to trim more than $2M/year from the Transportation Ministers budget.

The big savings comes when you halt capital projects and can fire everybody who was working on that project.

 

[gweed123]

It's funny for Hudak to criticize Metrolinx. What is his plan for transit? It's funny to sit on the sidelines and criticize others but what plan does he have? Read the reports, we are at the bottom not just in North America but globally in moving people to and from work. Instead of coming with a sensible plan this clown brings up the subway only only nonsense put forward by Rob Ford. We also how Rob Ford was able to pay for all the subways he promised through being efficient in government. This genius proposes the exact same plan as Rob Ford.

He's backed by the Ontario Landowners Association. Hudak doesn't give 2 shits about urban issues, because the money backing him is NeoCon rural money.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Ultimately, the amount of staff required for capital projects depends on the scope of the capital projects and funding for them is included in that capital project.


I assume Hudak is including all staff covered by Metrolinx's budget (on payroll and contracted) because shutting down Metrolinx (split off GO, handing capital expansion to MTO) isn't going to trim more than $2M/year from the Transportation Ministers budget.

The big savings comes when you halt capital projects and can fire everybody who was working on that project.

It's cute people are trying to argue it rationally. Hudak's entire "vision" for Ontario is just "less stuff." He has no clue what to do with GO. Heck, 2 weeks ago he said they should upload TTC to Metrolinx and now he wants to ditch it entirely. You think he has an actual model for transit planning and operations? He has the same attitude with the LHINS. It's Liberal waste! He doesn't know how he'll restructure health care without them, but he knows we don't need all those overpaid civil servants.

I figure the spring budget will be make or break time for Metrolinx. Either there will be revenue tools put in place and actual move to empower them or this will go on until they're dissolved and Toronto is filled with subways going out to every ward that doesn't have one now and the rest of the region will just sprawl on and on. I don't see any real going back at this point if it all falls apart.

 

[BurlOak]

It's funny for Hudak to criticize Metrolinx. What is his plan for transit? It's funny to sit on the sidelines and criticize others but what plan does he have? Read the reports, we are at the bottom not just in North America but globally in moving people to and from work. Instead of coming with a sensible plan this clown brings up the subway only only nonsense put forward by Rob Ford. We also how Rob Ford was able to pay for all the subways he promised through being efficient in government. This genius proposes the exact same plan as Rob Ford.

Did you read what you typed.

The Liberals have been in power for 10 years and Metrolinx been around for 8 years - and the result is us being the worst in North America. How is this proof that the Liberals or Metrolinx should not be criticized.

 

[Palma]

Metrolinx taking over the TTC would just be a bad idea. It would result in transit service in the city beign reduced in favour of increased service in the suburbs. Even the TTC alone is bad enough. You can see downtown transit routes are slow and overcrowdedbecause the TTC's resources are being used instead to have empty buses running throughout Scarborough and North York. Imagine if they had to fund provide transit in the 905 as well.

I totally agree

 

[EnviroTO]

The Liberals have been in power for 10 years and Metrolinx been around for 8 years - and the result is us being the worst in North America. How is this proof that the Liberals or Metrolinx should not be criticized.

We have more projects under construction than we ever have had in the past. Almost every GO station has been redone in recent years, in the next 2-3 years a new subway extension will open, a new connection to the airport will open, Lakeshore has doubled service, GO service extended to K-W, Barrie, and soon all-day to Hamilton James North, electrification is no longer a pipe dream but a real plan, etc. Should Metrolinx have been given more teeth and independence from local and provincial political meddling, probably. Will Hudak give Metrolinx the power to do more? No. He has suggested time and again that transit is an expense for after you have control of your finances and we know that there would be a push for tax cuts which would delay that from happening even longer. We would have Sheppard LRT opening in the next 12 months if Metrolinx had the ability to shut down discussion on changes to plans. Getting rid of the agency which consistently puts transit in front of citizens with open houses and transit plan releases will allow Hudak to lower the focus on transit spending to another agenda is all it will do.

 

[waterloowarrior]

The COTA certainly considers the possibility that the City of Toronto will be tolling highways. Yes, Ontario would have to agree and cabinet would have to put a regulation in place ... but nothing unusual about that. And no requirement that it be reviewed by the legislature. If Toronto seriously proposed tolls, the government of Ontario would be hard-pressed to not rubber stamp them if they appeared reasonable.

The Ontario government just denied Ottawa's request to allow it to toll its municipal expressway
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Province+allow+city+charge+tolls+minister+says/9068882/story.html

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Did you read what you typed.

The Liberals have been in power for 10 years and Metrolinx been around for 8 years - and the result is us being the worst in North America. How is this proof that the Liberals or Metrolinx should not be criticized.

I hope you realize that transit takes a really, really, really long time to build. We're talking decades when you include years of planning/engineering work. The Liberals have been in power for 10 years. I don't see how they could have pushed ahead must faster than they are now.