The maps are from late 2006 using Google Earth data which probably lags by 1-3 years. I'm aware of the omissions and I'll probably eventually update them. And here's Vancouver. It's up to date since there haven't been any new highway additions in the last few years. Once the new port Mann...

I made some maps of expressway networks a while ago but never uploaded them. They're to scale so putting them side by side gives a good comparison of the Toronto and Montreal highway networks. Each red line represents one lane and urbanized areas are shaded in gray. More maps here...

Hold on a second, is this street paved with wood? Or are those thin concrete beams??

Exactly. It's very bureaucratic and inefficient to fund transit with new forms of municipal taxation. The correct way to fund this is for the feds to match any dollars spent by the municipality on infrastructure. This was an immensely effective method used in the US in the late 70's to get...

Awesome!

From a Porter flight: Toronto Aerial by cfloryan, on Flickr

From Murano this weekend: Toronto from the 34th floor by cfloryan, on Flickr

Toronto Aerial by cfloryan, on Flickr Toronto from the 34th floor by cfloryan, on Flickr Toronto during Takeoff by cfloryan, on Flickr Toronto Yorkville by cfloryan, on Flickr

Is this photo from last year? I don't see One Bedford.

I wrote farms and forests. Ontario = 1,076,000 km^2 Urban GTA = 3000km^2 from your figures above? So then we're replaced 0.3% of Ontario's forests and farms with an urban area. And I don't see why Vancouver's such a bad example? Eve nwithout the bubble it's had high housing prices since...

That's a lot to retort so I'll just make two points: --- AFFORDABILITY ISSUES You will agree that capping suburbanization leads to higher housing prices? (All empirical evidence does suggest so) If we cap suburbanization in the GTA and prices go up, can you personally afford a, say $700,000...

But if you double the size of the GTA's built-up area you're still left with 99% of Ontario as forest and farmland. We really don't have a shortage of land.

YES let's stop them! Let's eliminate all new land for development! But do you know what happens when you do this? Housing prices go up. Look at Vancouver: They ran out of development land and the average house price is what? $700,000? Do you want to pay $700,000 for a house? (or...

You misunderstand: It's not about choice or preference, it's about increasing quality of life. Supposedly "suburbanites" decrease your quality of life. But wouldn't forcing others to live in a more cramped neighbourhoods be decreasing their quality of life? And new suburbs are already...

Of course, agreed, HSR would be very viable in Southern Ontario. It just becomes pointless if the train stops at every small city along the way, thereby reducing its speed.