Would you pay road tolls to help fund Ford's subway?
Although Gordon Chong's report on the feasibility of the Sheppard subway extension won't go before the City's executive committee until February 13, excerpts revealed by the Toronto Sun indicate that the project is "doable" (or "do-able," as some would put it). That's mildly surprising given the reticence of the private sector to fund subway expansion in the past. So what's the catch?
Alternative revenue tools will be required to drum up enough money. As Chong hinted at before, the private sector can only be expected to go in for a small percentage of the money required for the infrastructure project, which the report pegs at $3.7 million. That means that a number of income sources seemingly incongruous with the Ford agenda might have to be put on the table.
What are we talking about here? Well, regional road tolls for one (these might require provincial involvement), but also parking or gas taxes. The specifics are a long way off still, but it'll be interesting to see how the public â and particularly Ford supporters â react to such funding strategies.
Weigh in by voting in the poll below. And remember, the question isn't about transit projects in general. Photo by David Dang in the blogTO Flickr pool.
