[Rainforest]

If John Tory was mayor the Sheppard would already be in the process of being expended.

Quite possibly. Though he could choose to go with a mixed plan that has some of Transit City LRT lines and some subway expansion, or prioritize DRL.

The key is that he would plan and accomplish. He would not design odd funding schemes, fight with Councillors, or fire a well-performing GM without even a chance to name the successor.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Quite possibly. Though he could choose to go with a mixed plan that has some of Transit City LRT lines and some subway expansion, or prioritize DRL.

The key is that he would plan and accomplish. He would not design odd funding schemes, fight with Councillors, or fire a well-performing GM without even a chance to name the successor.

We can get mad at Ford all we want, but the people are to blame. Voters don't care about anything, and want everything but are not willing to pay for it.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Quite possibly. Though he could choose to go with a mixed plan that has some of Transit City LRT lines and some subway expansion, or prioritize DRL.

The key is that he would plan and accomplish. He would not design odd funding schemes, fight with Councillors, or fire a well-performing GM without even a chance to name the successor.

We can get mad at Ford all we want, but the people are to blame. Voters don't care about anything, and want everything but are not willing to pay for it.

 

[Lenser]

I am reminded of the old maxim that the electorate tends to get what it deserves. And those who opt not to vote also make their own contribution to this sorry mess... that only serves to enable yet more cynical double-dealings on the part of our elected politicians.

We could use a mayor (and a backing administration) with some vision right about now - someone who isn't afraid to think outside the box, especially with regard to addressing the city's transit problems - someone who might inspire and embolden the city's inhabitants, commit them to paying their fair share for all the transportation infrastructure projects required to make Toronto a viable and fiercely competitive city for the coming decades. Instead we get transit debacles, a false pitting of 905ers against 416ers and a duplicitous man who loudly proclaims "respect to taxpayers" but who acts as if he heads up a feudal fiefdom... a man who claims we need one solution over many others (subways) but puts forth no evidence that the "private money" needed to pay for them will ever step up to the plate. The same man who until very recently claimed that the city has long been overtaxed and poorly managed now proceeds to squeak out hints that new taxes will probably have to be implemented to pay for things.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Many people do not want to pay for anything regardless of who the mayor is

 

[Lenser]

True enough. Money for nuthin,' chicks for free.

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Instead of eliminating the Vehicle Registration Tax, why couldn't they have just kept it and reduced the amount to $20 or $30 so it is more appealing to motorists (versus $60 Province/$60 Municipal)? I think a compromise would have been great!

 

[Lenser]

Ah, but Ford wanted the slam-dunk of killing the tax, hands down. He wanted to slay that dragon very badly indeed. Had he never promised he was going to kill it outright, he would have left himself some maneuvering room. But at the time, he believed Toronto had a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

 

[Rainforest]

We can get mad at Ford all we want, but the people are to blame. Voters don't care about anything, and want everything but are not willing to pay for it.

Some truth is in this statement; but we are not going to replace the electorate Blaming the mayor is somewhat more productive, as there is a decent chance to replace him in 2014.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Exactly guys. Let's be honest here, I support transit city but I can't wait for those outside the former city to complain that downtown gets everything.

 

[yin_yang]

Exactly guys. Let's be honest here, I support transit city but I can't wait for those outside the former city to complain that downtown gets everything.

haha! well, we lobbied and paid for it, it isn't any of our business..

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

haha! well, we lobbied and paid for it, it isn't any of our business..

Bingo.

 

[Palma]

No municipality should be building transit (of any form) in the hopes that transit oriented business development will follow. It's a recipe for disaster.

Adam Vaughan was on Talk 1010 I think 2 weeks ago and he was saying the same thing., He said when Spadina was conceived it was suppose to run along the waterfront and up Dufferin St to Yorkdale and then York University. But subway was built along Spadina (well not really since Spadina ends at Eglinton) and this density around Spadina subway never materialized. I find it hard to believe that back then in the 70's they were thinking intensification. Probably more political like councillors who did not want it to go up Dufferin St but Bathurst would be out cause its too close to Yonge St so they went in the middle. And in the subway maps continue to show this line I think east of Bathurst when its close to Dufferin St.

 

[gweed123]

Adam Vaughan was on Talk 1010 I think 2 weeks ago and he was saying the same thing., He said when Spadina was conceived it was suppose to run along the waterfront and up Dufferin St to Yorkdale and then York University. But subway was built along Spadina (well not really since Spadina ends at Eglinton) and this density around Spadina subway never materialized. I find it hard to believe that back then in the 70's they were thinking intensification. Probably more political like councillors who did not want it to go up Dufferin St but Bathurst would be out cause its too close to Yonge St so they went in the middle. And in the subway maps continue to show this line I think east of Bathurst when its close to Dufferin St.

It was used as political justification for the Spadina Expressway. If they put it up Dufferin St, the Expressway would have been much harder to push for. Because the two projects were essentially combined, it was more palatable to both sides.

I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just saying that was the rationale, at least as I understand it.

FYI: Ottawa is doing something similar now. They're widening the 417 from the Split to Nicholas. The justification for doing it now is that it's going to be bus lanes from when it opens until the LRT opens, because the LRT construction is going to shut down the Transitway. Transit people still get reliable transit, car people get a wider highway when everything is said and done.

 

[jje1000]

Another attempt at misleading the public. Someone really needs to follow the money and see who's really paying for this.

Poster campaign urges public to 'save the subways'

A new ad campaign seeks to get Torontonians to “save the subways.”

The Toronto Taxpayers Coalition says it intends to run ads on city buses this week in North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough that cite the reasons why subways “are better” than light-rail transit.

“All evidence shows that in the long run, subways are far cheaper than LRT, they carry more people faster and they spur economic development,” Matthew McGuire, the group’s president, told CBC News in a interview on Sunday.

Earlier this month, city council voted 25-18 in favour of a light rail-focused transit development plan that seemingly shut down Mayor Rob Ford’s vision of keeping a major Eglinton Avenue transit project below the road.

Ford later dismissed the vote as being “irrelevant,” saying that he believes Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will stick with a deal previously struck to keep the forthcoming Eglinton line underground.

But McGuinty has said the province is running out of patience with the City of Toronto and its ongoing transit drama.

McGuire said his group, which has 450 members, opposes council’s “irresponsible decision,” and they want subway supporters to sign a petition that asks the premier to hold a vote in the Ontario legislature on the issue.

The group plans to purchase ads this week with the intent of having them on buses shortly. They are also looking for members of the public to donate money so they can expand their media reach.

“We are going to use this money to buy more and more ads on buses,” McGuire said.

“We want to get our message out to all subway supporters in the City of Toronto and through our ad campaign, this is what we’re doing.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/02/26/toronto-subway-ads-taxpayers-coalition.html