[allengeorge]

My read is that this is a pretty good deal. And, kudos to both Doug Ford and Olivia Chow here.

Yes, Olivia Chow gave up on both OP and the Gardiner, but I think what she got in return (room in the capital budget, operating funding for the Crosstown and Finch, and more) was worth it. And for Doug Ford - honestly? - this was very mature of him. He could have pulled a “Ford to City: Drop dead” (ironic that you can reuse that headline, almost 50 years later), but he didn’t - even though he had the much stronger hand. I’ll take the win, and thank them both.

PS. I do hope the city can use that capital room and build the Waterfront East LRT. Pretty please?

 

[Northern Light]

I certainly hope so! I’d no idea that the Federal government was even entertaining that kind of spend right now.

Renewing the current infrastructure program commitments is baked into the budget; but how these will be allocated has not.

This is the pot of money that's available:

Infrastructure Canada - Building Canada's public transit future: Healthy and sustainable modes of transportation for all

Infrastructure Canada - Home

www.infrastructure.gc.ca

3B per year for 10 years. But that's everything transit, nationally.

I'd expect Ontario's share to be ~40% which is 12B over a decade.

Money becomes available in 2026-2027.

That works for this item.

There are also unspent dollars from the last tranche.

 

[allengeorge]

Renewing the current infrastructure program commitments is baked into the budget; but how these will be allocated has not.

This is the pot of money that's available:

Infrastructure Canada - Building Canada's public transit future: Healthy and sustainable modes of transportation for all

Infrastructure Canada - Home

www.infrastructure.gc.ca

3B per year for 10 years. But that's everything transit, nationally.

I'd expect Ontario's share to be ~40% which is 12B over a decade.

Money becomes available in 2026-2027.

That works for this item.

There are also unspent dollars from the last tranche.

Ah. I hope the city gets on that right quick and signs a deal. I know the Feds could renege after a government changeover, but I suspect that’s unlikely.

Getting that chunk of money under Polliviere sounds much, much harder.

 

[Richard White]

Ah. I hope the city gets on that right quick and signs a deal. I know the Feds could renege after a government changeover, but I suspect that’s unlikely.

Getting that chunk of money under Polliviere sounds much, much harder.

The CPC is not that stupid.

If Ford and the City of Toronto are both dumping in money to support it, they do not have a leg to stand on. What will they say, that everyone else needs to step up to the plate?

 

[allengeorge]

The CPC is not that stupid.

…

What will they say, that everyone else needs to step up to the plate?

“Canada must live within its means. The capacity of the Federal government is not infinite. We have inherited a financial mess from the Liberals, and until that is cleaned up, we can’t support this purchase.”

Or, more likely - they’ll say nothing, and the request will just wait and wait and wait.

 

[picard102]

Yeah the party that's importing Fox news into the HOC isn't likely to be rational or helpfull.

 

[EagleEye]

My read is that this is a pretty good deal. And, kudos to both Doug Ford and Olivia Chow here.

Yes, Olivia Chow gave up on both OP and the Gardiner, but I think what she got in return (room in the capital budget, operating funding for the Crosstown and Finch, and more) was worth it. And for Doug Ford - honestly? - this was very mature of him. He could have pulled a “Ford to City: Drop dead” (ironic that you can reuse that headline, almost 50 years later), but he didn’t - even though he had the much stronger hand. I’ll take the win, and thank them both.

PS. I do hope the city can use that capital room and build the Waterfront East LRT. Pretty please?

I am really happy with today's happenings. The city was never going to win the Ontario Place battle but hopefully grassroots organizations will still push against the Cons at Queen's Park.

 

[DSC]

I am really happy with today's happenings. The city was never going to win the Ontario Place battle but hopefully grassroots organizations will still push against the Cons at Queen's Park.

..... and we may well see more revelations of underhand dealings from the Auditor General so Mr Ford and his buddies will again need to have a course correction!

 

[Towered]

I'm a bit surprised Doug agreed to this deal since he often dismissively said the city needs to get its house in order.

 

[Northern Light]

I'm a bit surprised Doug agreed to this deal since he often dismissively said the city needs to get its house in order.

What Doug says, and what Doug does are not necessarily connected......in fact, they often show little resemblance.

 

[kyler]

While not happy about the results of today, I at least understand that the failures of the OP spa and continued existence of the Gardiner lie solely at the hands of the provincial government.

These massive wastes of money and public space are in addition to the wasteful spending on Line 5 West and Scarborough subway and I will remember them during the next provincial election.

Kudos to Olivia Chow for removing the massive Gardiner expense from the cities books!

 

[Johnny Au]

Given the upload, Allen Road remains the only municipally owned freeway in Toronto.

 

[Admiral Beez]

The city was never going to win the Ontario Place battle but hopefully grassroots organizations will still push against the Cons at Queen's Park.

Agreed. IMO, whatever happens at Ontario Place was always out of City Hall’s control, people we‘re complaining to the wrong level of government. If the citizens of Toronto want to influence the Ontario Place project they need to organize and protest. But they‘d better come up with a counter proposal, as we can’t have a derelict theme park on the water front. Last year I visited Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Now that’s a fantastic city park.

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

Given the upload, Allen Road remains the only municipally owned freeway in Toronto.

Highway 27 (between Eglinton and Steeles) is still maintained by Toronto.

Black Creek Blvd. was to be a southern extension of Highway 400 to Weston Rd., is still maintained by Toronto.

Spadina Expressway, now known as Allen Rd., between Sheppard and Eglinton, is still maintained by Toronto.

Other former provincial highways have been maintained by Toronto for decades now...

• Highway 2, aka Lake Shore Blvd. and Kingston Road;
• Highway 5, aka Dundas Street West, Bloor Street, and Danforth Road;
• Highway 11, aka Yonge Street;
• Highway 11A, aka University Avenue and Avenue Road;
• Highway 48, aka Markham Road;
• Highway 50, aka Albion Road.

 

[Richard White]

Highway 27 (between Eglinton and Steeles) is still maintained by Toronto.

Black Creek Blvd. was to be a southern extension of Highway 400 to Weston Rd., is still maintained by Toronto.

Spadina Expressway, now known as Allen Rd., between Sheppard and Eglinton, is still maintained by Toronto.

Other former provincial highways have been maintained by Toronto for decades now...

• Highway 2, aka Lake Shore Blvd. and Kingston Road;
• Highway 5, aka Dundas Street West, Bloor Street, and Danforth Road;
• Highway 11, aka Yonge Street;
• Highway 11A, aka University Avenue and Avenue Road;
• Highway 48, aka Markham Road;
• Highway 50, aka Albion Road.

Yes but those are not full blown expressways.

Kingston Road is formerly Highway 2 however it is not and never was a highway like the 401, Gardiner or DVP. It is a local road more than anything else.

The only road that can truly be considered a municipal expressway in Toronto will be the Allen.