299 bloor call control. said:
Announced once in January in 2009 by Flaherty and in 2000 as well by then Liberal Transport Minister David Collenette.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/578966
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The 2000 monies were strictly for heritage preservation, though, not for the complete rebuild that is now planned.

And as for the 2009 mention from Flaherty, that Star article was misleading. The actual mention of Union in the budget documents was in a list of possible infrastructure projects, NOT a confirmed mention of Union as a project. It was simply an example of the kind of thing that the feds wanted money to go towards. In other words, it was not a commitment.

The big question here is how much pain will we have to go through to actually get cheques in hand.
 
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Since the vast majority of people using the station are 905ers I expect the feds will be pretty quick on this one.
 
Since the vast majority of people using the station are 905ers I expect the feds will be pretty quick on this one.
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When it comes to infrastructure projects - the only thing the feds are quick with is announcements... certainly not actual funding!
 
Our definition of "commitment" may differ from the government's.

Still, fingers crossed (once again).
 
DavidH said:
And as for the 2009 mention from Flaherty, that Star article was misleading. The actual mention of Union in the budget documents was in a list of possible infrastructure projects, NOT a confirmed mention of Union as a project.
Click to expand...

This sounds as committal as yesterday's announcement to me, sans photo op:

"The crucial commuter hub for the greater Toronto area, Toronto's landmark Union Station, will at last be revitalized."

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublica...ge=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=3630294#T1650

And after watching endless question periods after that, Union Station was continuously brought up by the Tories, since it's their only major stimulus project in Toronto.
 
299 bloor call control. said:
This sounds as committal as yesterday's announcement to me, sans photo op:
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I'm not disputing that, but the actual budget documents made it clear it was just a possible project. So today's announcement does seem to have been progress of a sort - and yet they have apparently still not signed an actual agreement with the City.
 
Union station=65 millions passengers

Pearson=32 Millions passengers


I'm not saying that Pearson should get billions liake Pearson in Gov. funds but 305 M$ is ridiculous.
 
Pearson did not receive billions from the government. It is a not-for-profit organization that receives its money from landing fees and departure taxes.

Union is owned by the City but does not operate like an airport - there are no departure taxes or platform fees. Hence why it needs government grants.

I wonder - is it possible to set up Union like an airport though, and charge a very nominal departure fee?
 
Ansem said:
Union station=65 millions passengers

Pearson=32 Millions passengers


I'm not saying that Pearson should get billions liake Pearson in Gov. funds but 305 M$ is ridiculous.
Click to expand...


If Union Station had been upgraded and renovated at the same time as Pearson, it wouldn't be costing the government $305 million now.
 
Looking at the renderings of what Union is suppose to look after the rebuild is done makes me wounder how the hell are they going to do this without major interruptions to passenger traffic.

union_10b.jpg

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Proposed lower level retail area at Union Station.[/FONT]


union_8b.jpg

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Escalators leading down to the proposed retail level from the Bay Street GO Concourse at Union Station. [/FONT]

*Source:Toronto.ca

*Note: Video tour of the update union on link website
 
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