Would you pay road tolls to help fund Ford's subway?

yes.

If it means a network of subway/transit or even to improve service on the entire network - then yes. However, just for Sheppard? No.

I was going to account for a scenario in which people supported the idea of road tolls but for other projects, but the poll would have been terribly skewed.

And what about the Downtown Relief Line? Would we be able to use the same scenario to build that as well? Especially, when I think the DRL is more NEEDED and will be used MORE than the Sheppard.

The bigger issue for me is that the city would have to give up 50 years of revenue from new development along the line. Development fees along public transit lines are a huge justification for the original investment. Now we won't get anything.

Ford is trying to sell "private sector investment" as "free money." Really, this is just borrowed money, and the revenue we give up in the future will be FAR greater than the initial investment of private funding.

Though I am not in support of the Sheppard Extension at this point in time, I am in support of the institutionalization of road tolls as a means of funding transit expansion. Research has shown that once road tolls (or almost any other politically acidic idea has been implemented) there is period of grumbling from the general public, but an eventual acquiescence whereby opposition fades and the "nuisance" becomes a fact of life. Once the tolls are in place, they will be easy to keep in place. Thus, this might provide a beachhead from which semi-predictable long term funding for transit can be generated.

The framing of this question is awkward. I'd be willing to pay road tolls if it was going towards something that makes sense like transit city but if its going to be wasted on an expensive subway line that no one uses then no I'm not willing to pay for that.

I thought Transit City was paid for.

Any plan to charge tolls on people commuting from outside Toronto, would fall under the purview of the provincial government, and they don't seem likely to approve anything of that sort.

Good luck getting anything from the Feds, they're too busying paying people to stack fake-immigrants into photo-ops.

i don't believe that is the case Jerry. On city owned highways such as the Gardiner and DVP the city has the legal right to generate money from tolls.

A better question would be:

Which statement do fits your opinion best

1)I would pay road tolls to fund the sheppard subway
2)I would pay road tolls to fund transit city
3)I would pay road tolls to fund karen stintz recommendation
4)I would not pay road tolls to fund public transit

You don't want transit into Scarborough? where exactly do you think the Eglinton subway/LRT is going to end up?
Granted, I do agree that expanding Sheppard subway at this point is beyond useless and an incredible waste of money.

I support road tolls and honestly wouldn't care if the money was earmarked for any specific purposes at all. When city council claims the financial situation is so bad that we need to think about cutting services, I whole-heartedly agree with any plan that taxes commuters who come into the city but don't actually live here. I also like any plan that would encourage alternate forms of transportation and car pooling.

By all means, pad our city budget with money from people who use the city's services but offer nothing by way of property taxes. As of this week, I don't even own a car so tax the hell out of the roads!

I would pay tolls for subways, but the sheppard line was ill-conceived from day 1.

I'd pay tolls if the DRL was built

do i support road tolls to help fund a sheppard extension? no. do i support road tolls to help fund a USEFUL subway that goes through a HIGH DENSITY area (ie DRL)? yes. a thousand times yes.

"Our Federal Government needs to kick in more money for projects like this... The amount of taxes we pay in Canada is unreal, we are one of the highest taxed counties in the world with a very unreliable, overpriced, & overpaid transit systems"

That's your perception, but it does not agree with reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Canada#International_comparison_.28personal_income_tax.29

The facts are that we as a populace in Ontario are too cheap to invest in transit, and our governments are too weak to convince voters that it is important enough to have us each fork over some cash. Full stop.

YES. Tolls for subways are the exact reason I support Sarah Thomson when she was running for mayor.

Are you making fun of his American accent?

One could argue that probably most of the people voting YES don't own a car, which is why they wouldn't care if drivers are charged a toll.

Using that deluded logic, how about putting toll booths all the way up the 404/400... you city slickers that pay no property tax up north eat away at our roads.

If Rob is gonna tax drivers to build subways, then I'm all for it. Stay the course, Robbie!

@JoeParez:

EXACTLY

Anyone who thinks the tolls would disappear after the project is done is living in a fool's paradise. Not only would they remain, they would continue to be jacked up and up and up. That's how it works.

I drive every day, and I would be thrilled to pay a toll if it meant Sheppard would get done already. That thing is 5 and a half kilometres long -- it needs to connect up with some nodes.

In fact, I'd go further and say they should immediately put BRT on Finch West connecting to the future York University station, then over to Sheppard subway, and -- until the Sheppard line actually got built out east, which I am not sure will ever happen -- put another BRT starting from Don Mills subway and going out to Scarborough Centre. It's needed, would build demand, would connect the nodes.

So definitely a yes for me.

@Hal, I'd be for a regional sales tax, I think, over a one time levy or a levy on car drivers. You do realize that a one time levy would be about $1200 for every single person in the city (going with a requirement of $3 billion from Torontonians). Plus all that money is not needed at once, so no need to do it in one fell swoop. But maybe the per person value is something we should ask Torontonians and/or those in Scarborough: are you willing to pay an extra $800 each to have the Eglinton LRT (note to Ford: it's not a subway) buried on Eglinton where it's wide enough to land a 747? Really?!? Because that's what it'd cost us if others in Ontario weren't helping us out. But great that they are, though, and that they get no say in it!

I don't drive but I don't support other people paying tolls to something that doesn't benefit them. This would only be okay if it was road tolls on a road in Scarborough that could become less congested if the subway was built. Or, if the road tolls went to transit in general, then you could put them wherever you want.

BUT you cannot toll people driving in from the GTA to pay for a subway that does nothing for them. You can only put road tolls on the 401 or DVP or whatever if it goes to something like GO Transit. The tolls on those highways have to go toward reducing the congestion on those highways.

does anyone else foresee chong getting thrown under the bus with Stintz in the near future?

Now people are complaining the lack of a DRL line? Too bad Miller didn't include that in the Transit Shitty plan. There were actual plans and studies for a DRL line but Miller ignored the more pressing needs planners had pushed for 20 years.

I voted "no." I had to. I would never, ever pay road tolls to fund a suburban subway to nowhere when our existing system cannot handle the volume of riders it already has. A Sheppard line is poor planning from any perspective, unless you happen to own the private company that will be tapped to dig the billion-dollar hole.

It's bullshit city building. I would redefine "scofflaw" to avoid paying road tolls going to such bullshit projects.

Send that money to transit projects developed by a consensus of smart people using rational methods. I'll pay tolls day and night to support that. I'll pay a municipal sales tax, too, to support that. I think you'll find that a majority of Torontonians would support that if presented the options honestly.

Derek: I agree. I would love to see this same question asked: Would you be willing to pay road tolls to help fund a downtown relief line?

Road tolls - YES, but they should only charge those from outside the city.

Implementing a road pricing (tolling) system to generate funds solely for one unneeded transit project gives road pricing a bad name -- which is not helpful to the cause. City of Toronto must work in partnership with all other GTA municipalities (at a minimum) and Queen's Park to create a comprehensive transportation vision that includes GPS based road pricing as part of the mix. GPS technology enables all 300,000 lane km of provincial and municipal roads to be priced -- the opposite of what we have right now where nothing but 407's 108 km is priced. By dynamically pricing all vehicles by time, distance, vehicle type (emissions, fuel use) and then phasing out transport-related property taxes and gas taxes while earmarking revenues to both roads (complete streets) and transit, the province and municipalities can eliminate income and geographic equity issues that polarize opinions and reduce pricing acceptance. By putting a price on all roads (and parking spaces), drivers and transit riders will have more reliable trip times, cyclists and pedestrians will have safer and more pleasant trips and the planet will breathe easier. See http://www.transportfutures.ca/ for more more info.

I would pay tolls, but not for the Sheppard line. No point in building a subway where there isn't any density - using that logic we might as well build a subway in some farmland, so that real estate values will increase.

Transit City WAS FUNDED. Period. Idiot boy trashed it and we will be paying for this mistake for a generation.

Hmmm... maybe road tolls are not the best decision, doesn't seem like everyone is a fan. If only there was another alternative method to obtain funds for subways and road repairs... maybe like a tax or something... a tax that could be applied to, let's say.... registration... for a vehicle... or multiple vehicles... that people would have to pay once a year... Hmmm....

but why should using the parkway be free? some people have cars and never go on the expressway or the parkway, even though these are heavily damaged often, and are one of the main reasons why downtown is mor epolluted than it needs to be. toll'em, boys!

Those people that want subways even though they make no sense and are VERY VERY expensive must understand that there will need to be tolls and more to pay for them. Taxes will go up, services will be cut. Streets will be shut down for ages from constructing stations. It's an insane idea. I drive and take the subway, but I've embraced the subway more lately. It's an amazing way to get around, and with the light rail transit plan in place it will be kick ass. If you want to drive that's your problem,but there is a much better way and it can be built quick. Cars are not sustainable and anyone on here that wants more space for cars are killing our kids generation hope for clean air and affordable transit, shame on you. Get educated and get real for gods sake.

The private sector could pay up to 60 per cent of the tab for making Rob Ford’s Sheppard subway a reality, but the car-loving mayor would have to accept road tolls in the process.