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.
Comments (16)
Wow! I'm impressed with the large funding budget, and tremendously surprised that the Yonge subway will be extended even further. If only this had happened 15 years ago, my daily commute to Markham wouldn't suck as much.
While it might not get TTC fans giddy, I must say I'm quite excited about the GO service improvements that are planned as well.
Fantastic news! Let's cross our fingers and hope that this goes through, and that the project is kept near budget estimates.
I agree Sameer. Faster, electric GO service is great news, even for TTC keeners who rarely take the GO train.
I guess now we just have to wait and see what the federal government says. Let's just cross our fingers, shall we?
I see no valid reason to extend the subway into York Region and make it even easier to live farther away. And don't get me started on the streetcar project. The city is getting too densely populated for that; what we need is large-scale subway development within the city. (I'm not holding my breath.)
I can't say I agree Francois (my cedille isn't working...). I think you've made my point for me by saying the city is too densely populated. That's exactly why we need the subway to go further. Plus I'm sure York university students would appreciate it. Not having to live near campus is a great thing. I also don't understand why so many people are so against a light rail system in the city. The streetcars we have now, though very charming, are totally impractical.
"The streetcars we have now, though very charming, are totally impractical."
Well, not totally, because all sorts of people use them for their intended purpose every day.
Haha, yes Eric you're right. Not totally impractical. Just impractical. I cringe every time I have to watch an elderly person or parent with a stroller try to get on and off.
Now it's Harper's turn to come up with the money or be vilified in the next election. John Tory would be wise to not criticize the plan. It seems the Conservative and he PCs (they are different, after all) are going to have difficulties with this proposal. Good for them during an election year.
Although transit alone does not make a great city, this is a great start. Would like to see this fit into a higher level development plan for the horseshoe.
Although transit alone does not make a great city, this is a great start. Would like to see this fit into a higher level development plan for the horseshoe. By plan I don't mean just transit planning but province building.
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