[muller877]

Still believe in the gravy train?

Most large organizations on a recurring basis (every 2-3 years) look for cost savings. The city also has horrible negotiated/arbitrated union settlements. If you are not looking for cost savings then I worry.

We have these pretty graphs that compare the per dwelling taxes compared to the surrounding area. But it's silent on the costs per dwelling for the main services...I would love to see that comparison. Are we paying more/less for police? Parks? Due to economies of scale we should be paying considerably less. But how much less?

 

[jcam]

16 councillors support giving up our transit system to a higher level of government that has proven to be fickle and out of touch with the needs of the city.

Including 1 member of the TTC Board...Minnan-Wong. Shouldn't a Board member be looking out for the interests of the entity on whose Board they sit?

 

[Palma]

Coun. Joe Mihevic asked what the earliest possible date would be for implementing tolls on the busy highways. Transportation staff said that while the current report suggests it wouldn't be until 2024, the earliest possible date would be 201

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/city-council-meeting-road-tolls-1.3893884

how can it take 8 years to collect tolls. Unreal

 

[Palma]

Exactly, these tolls are about funding Gardiner East. What a wasteful project with a lousy outcome for the city.

Tory says money will be for public transit - I assumed subways, LRT,

 

[Palma]

Tory has been clear that no decision (at least that's been communicated publicly) has been made as to the price of the toll. That said, he's spoken so widely about $2, and he's faced so much pushback on the proposal more broadly, that I think it'd be extremely unlikely to come in any higher than that.

As has been pointed out on this thread, though, if there is indeed no reversal to be had on the Gardiner East decision, a significant portion of a $2 toll would be dedicated to that reconstruction project, leaving little to fund transit.

someone should have asked tory, by public transit does he mean the Gardiner. I think most residents think subway projects, Smartrack, DRL

 

[salsa]

Tory says money will be for public transit - I assumed subways, LRT,

Tory said "every penny from tolls will go towards building transit & easing congestion". This includes road projects. And as the numbers showed, most of the 30 year toll revenue is enough only to pay for the Gardiner, leaving little money left over for transit. Whatever money remains will likely be spent on Smarttrack or squandered on Scarborough subway cost overruns. Sorry, no DRL.

 

[sixrings]

And in 30 years we again will be talking about rebuilding the gardiner

 

[steveintoronto]

I haven't fully thought this through, sometimes divisions just create more bureaucracy, sometime they reduce it and increase accountability and efficiency, but here's an idea:
City of Toronto forms a corporation to manage the expressways, owned 51% + by the City, and surrounding municipalities are welcome to join if they are so concerned about their flocks. Total ownership of the physical structures themselves may or may not be included within the shell of the corporation. Private investment also welcome, but the terms of incorporation must always be City of Toronto owns 51+% of either/both. 'Yield' is either ploughed back into the corp or distributed as dividend(s) to shareholders.

Poor downtrodden motorists can put their money where their exhaust pipe is, and buy shares. Something for the rabid right and loony left both.

 

[ADRM]

someone should have asked tory, by public transit does he mean the Gardiner. I think most residents think subway projects, Smartrack, DRL

I'm sure you're right and that's the kind of flexibility in language that he's banking on.

 

[ADRM]

Tory said "every penny from tolls will go towards building transit & easing congestion". This includes road projects. And as the numbers showed, most of the 30 year toll revenue is enough only to pay for the Gardiner, leaving little money left over for transit. Whatever money remains will likely be spent on Smarttrack or squandered on Scarborough subway cost overruns. Sorry, no DRL.

Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if, privately, he expects some combination of the province and feds to fund something close to the entirety of the costs for the RL.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Will John Tory still want the TTC to have a 2.6% cut in their operating budget for 2017?

Will John Tory stick his fingers in his ears or shut his eyes tight if he's presented with this article.

See link.

Texas transit agencies eye bus changes after ridership jump in Houston
Houston's bus overhaul, planned for years but rolled out literally overnight in 2015, has led to an increase in bus ridership, bucking state and national trends. Many are taking notice.
​

Except maybe Mayor Tory?

The agency’s average monthly bus ridership rose 3.3 percent in the 10 months after the change compared to the 10-month period before. That represents more than 175,000 additional bus passengers.

Two goals that often compete for transit agency resources are coverage, which aims to provide at least some service to all areas, and frequency, which seeks to put a lot of buses in high-trafficked areas.

After presenting its initial plans for its bus overhaul to the public, Houston METRO’s board agreed to increase the budget for local routes by 4 percent, or about $12 million, amid criticism that poor residents in the city’s northeast quadrant were losing too much service.

 

[salsa]

Council voted to ask Queen’s Park for a share of sales tax revenue with municipalities, but finance minister Sousa is not willing to consider that request. It's the same old excuse again, that Toronto already has enough powers which it's not using.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/toront...ts-a-no-from-province.html?platform=hootsuite

 

[TheTigerMaster]

It's absolutely pathetic that Toronto has to go crawling to this province for permission to implement revenue tools (and various other issues)

 

[WislaHD]

Will John Tory still want the TTC to have a 2.6% cut in their operating budget for 2017?

Will John Tory stick his fingers in his ears or shut his eyes tight if he's presented with this article.

See link.

Texas transit agencies eye bus changes after ridership jump in Houston
Houston's bus overhaul, planned for years but rolled out literally overnight in 2015, has led to an increase in bus ridership, bucking state and national trends. Many are taking notice.
​

Except maybe Mayor Tory?

As an aside, the new bus network in Houston was overseen by Jarrett Walker, who speaks about it from time to time on his blog: [post 1] and [post2]

 

[steveintoronto]

It's absolutely pathetic that Toronto has to go crawling to this province for permission to implement revenue tools (and various other issues)

It's in the City of Toronto Act, and it sets Toronto apart from almost any other city in Ontario which are almost all covered by the Municipal Act. IIRC there are a few other Ontario Cities with their own acts, as to whether they include tax raising powers beyond the Municipal Act I can't remember.

Don't have my screen shot program loaded at this time, (see 4. The Legal Status of Ontario Cities) or I'd post the relevant sections, but here's an excellent analysis that also has a paragraph on...lol...."9. Secession from the Province of Ontario":
Powers of Canadian Cities - The legal framework
https://www1.toronto.ca/inquiry/inq...N_Jurisdictions/Powers_of_Canadian_Cities.pdf