McGuinty announces TTC funding

Photo: "Photo: "TTC Streetcar backlog chaos! Good morning commuters! " by blogTO Flickr pooler funinthegym.

Dalton McGuinty just announced that public transit in the GTA and Hamilton will be receiving $17.5 billion over the next 12 years.

The money will be used to extend Yonge Street subway line north into York Region, create a network of streetcar lines across the city as well as increase the capacity of all Go Transit lines and add two rapid transit lines in Hamilton.

While some question whether or not the plan, dubbed MoveOntario 2020, has been announced to appease voters. I say: "Who cares?" Everything politicians do is calculated. If the liberals weren't in power, someone else would be offering a similar cookie.

I look forward a more effective transit system in Toronto. On top of an extended subway line and more streetcars, this money will help jump-start the proposed light rail system.

Construction will start next year and the plan is to have 66 per cent of the projects completed by 2015, and 95 per cent to be completed by 2020.

The government claims that the finished result will add 800 million new transit trips per year, take 300 million car trips off GTA roads. This will keep the GTA from producing 10 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and create 175 thousand jobs.

This plan proposes that the federal government pay one third of the total costs, with the provincial government shouldering the rest, with help from municipalities.