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TheTigerMaster said:
Isn't this the same commitment that Rob Ford broke by not getting approval from City Council?
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True, but I think that McGuinty also deserves some of the blame here for agreeing to a MoU with Ford on his buried Eglinton plan without Council approval. Dalton's staff should have known that Ford didn't have the power to negotiate such a deal unilaterally. I think they were trying to suck up to Ford Nation in the aftermath of his election, but without the MoU, I think that Ford would have had a much harder time pushing his agenda, and a lot of chaos could have been avoided.
 
Tulse said:
True, but I think that McGuinty also deserves some of the blame here for agreeing to a MoU with Ford on his buried Eglinton plan without Council approval. Dalton's staff should have known that Ford didn't have the power to negotiate such a deal unilaterally. I think they were trying to suck up to Ford Nation in the aftermath of his election, but without the MoU, I think that Ford would have had a much harder time pushing his agenda, and a lot of chaos could have been avoided.
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Correct.
 
Tulse said:
True, but I think that McGuinty also deserves some of the blame here for agreeing to a MoU with Ford on his buried Eglinton plan without Council approval. Dalton's staff should have known that Ford didn't have the power to negotiate such a deal unilaterally. I think they were trying to suck up to Ford Nation in the aftermath of his election, but without the MoU, I think that Ford would have had a much harder time pushing his agenda, and a lot of chaos could have been avoided.
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But that's how the system works - the province negotiates with the mayor, who then brings it to council. This process happens hundreds of times a year. Remember the public health nurses the province offered but Ford initially didn't want to accept? Same process, almost no controversy.
 
RedRocket191 said:
But that's how the system works - the province negotiates with the mayor, who then brings it to council. This process happens hundreds of times a year. Remember the public health nurses the province offered but Ford initially didn't want to accept? Same process, almost no controversy.
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Was there an actual MoU involved there? In any case, that seems different to me, in that it was Ford rejecting something the province offered, not the province agreeing to something that neither the province nor Ford had the right to unilaterally assert. And it didn't involve gutting a previously-approved plan costing billions of dollars.

It would have worked far better if the province had simply said to Ford, "We're willing to consider options -- come back to us when the City has officially decided if it is sticking with the already-agreed-to Transit City, or something else." That would have indicated the flexibility that the province wanted to convey, without committing it in writing to a plan that had no legal standing. It was bad, clumsy, thoughtless politics on the part of McGuinty's office -- it put him in a situation that he could have easily avoided, and gave the mayor an impression of far more provincial support than he actually had, leading him to bull ahead. And all apparently merely to suck up to the populist vote.
 
Tulse said:
Was there an actual MoU involved there? In any case, that seems different to me, in that it was Ford rejecting something the province offered, not the province agreeing to something that neither the province nor Ford had the right to unilaterally assert. And it didn't involve gutting a previously-approved plan costing billions of dollars.

It would have worked far better if the province had simply said to Ford, "We're willing to consider options -- come back to us when the City has officially decided if it is sticking with the already-agreed-to Transit City, or something else." That would have indicated the flexibility that the province wanted to convey, without committing it in writing to a plan that had no legal standing. It was bad, clumsy, thoughtless politics on the part of McGuinty's office -- it put him in a situation that he could have easily avoided, and gave the mayor an impression of far more provincial support than he actually had, leading him to bull ahead. And all apparently merely to suck up to the populist vote.
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Signing the MOU was a very smart tactical move on McGuinty's part. Remember that Ford initially wanted to scrap Eglinton altogether, and redirect the funding to Sheppard subway?

If McGuinty / Metrolinx refused to sign anything without the Council's approval, Ford would be unable to achieve the second part (force Metrolinx to build Sheppard subway), but could easily block any progress on Eglinton. It is an accepted common practice that the city staff takes directions from the mayor. Whether the mayor would be overstepping his powers by giving an order to stop the work on Eglinton, is largely irrelevant, as overriding such an order would take months if not years.

Signing the MOU allowed Metrolinx and TTC to avoid major delays on the Eglinton project.
 
rm20010 said:
Very clever strategy overall from yesterday: recompose the Commission with a diverse set of political views, from the suburbs as well - but also backed by downtown councillors. It's quite laughable how the hacks on the right continue to play the same tired "anything left of me is a communist" card. We don't need that stupid divisive bullshit here.
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Especially since there's only one (current, at least) NDPer among the bunch: holdover Maria Augimeri.

And for that matter, there aren't really any "downtowners" among them, either: in fact, Stintz is the only "Former City of Toronto" representative...
 
adma said:
And for that matter, there aren't really any "downtowners" among them, either: in fact, Stintz is the only "Former City of Toronto" representative...
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Stintz is a member of the North York council. There still isn't a single representative of the Toronto-East York council. Once again downtown is screwed by the suburbs, just like under Miller. When will this end?
 
I don't know why they did not have at least 2 from downtown. Does anyone know how that vote at Queens Park on Hudack's motion that the Liberals overrule Council and bury the LRT (though he sys build subways but we know it would still be an LRT underground)
 
nfitz said:
Stintz is a member of the North York council. There still isn't a single representative of the Toronto-East York council. Once again downtown is screwed by the suburbs, just like under Miller. When will this end?
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She may be a member of North York council, but her ward encompasses a big chunk of the North Toronto panhandle; ergo my "Former City of Toronto" point...
 
Meanwhile...

Cincinnati breaks ground on their streetcar line. From this link.

City Breaks Ground on Streetcar

Mayor Mark Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr., and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood broke ground on the Cincinnati Streetcar Project on Friday, Feb. 17. Hundreds of citizens attended the ground breaking ceremony that took place in front of Memorial Hall on Elm Street. The 3.6 mile Streetcar line will connect the Banks project and the Riverfront, through Downtown, to Over-the-Rhine.

“Today’s ground breaking belongs to the thousands of Cincinnatians who have enthusiastically worked to make the Streetcar a reality,” Mayor Mark Mallory said. “The Streetcar is another part of our efforts to build a better Cincinnati.”

“The supporters of the streetcar have carried a vision for the growth of this as a competitive city,” said Dohoney. “Transportation that helps support development is clearly the path to a prosperous future.”

“The streetcar represents a shift in our region’s transit profile,” said Terry Garcia Crews, Metro’s CEO & General Manager. “No longer will we be a “bus-only” city. We are becoming multi-modal and, in doing so, we are becoming more competitive as a region.”

“I applaud the leaders of our city and our nation for bringing us to this moment. I especially salute those who’ve worked so hard for so many years to bring us to this point. For sure, today’s a special day, but we’re just getting started,” Cincinnatian John Schneider said.

The ground breaking kicks off the first phase of construction on the Streetcar project. There will be multiple construction components and phases related to the building of this transportation project. The first phase is a 4 month project to relocate water mains beginning on Elm Street at 12th Street.

The City is conducting the technical analysis in the process of selecting the vehicle, which should be finalized in the next few months. The designs are being finalized for the section of the Streetcar from 5th Street to 2nd Street that was added with the TIGER 3 grant from the Department of Transportation.

[video=youtube;bndDU0oIKHg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bndDU0oIKHg[/video]
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Oh, oh! They're also replacing the water mains, which would also increase the project cost and get some NIMBYs upset. Sound familiar. See this link.

Streetcar Construction Update – Feb. 29, 2012

Streetcar Construction has started!

Greater Cincinnati Water Works is replacing the water main on Elm Street between 12th and McMicken in Over-the-Rhine to provide a clear zone for track construction. Work hours are typically from 7am – 6pm, with occasional weekend work possibly required.

The construction zone will span less than one block at a time as it moves up Elm Street. One lane of traffic and the sidewalk will remain open at all times. However, if you have construction concerns, call the City’s construction manager, Dave Krusling, at 513-352-3479 or speak with the on-site inspector, Dave West.

Should you have any questions in the meantime, please call the Streetcar hotline at 352-3333.

We’re excited that the project is underway, and look forward to bringing more to Cincinnati with the Streetcar!

[video=youtube;qKQYifNbmnc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKQYifNbmnc[/video]
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Guess they did read the report that our Mayor hide away.
 
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