2023 Toronto Mayoral by-election

[lead82]

Can you get Habitat for Humanity involved? Never mind developers. It's not a win win if it's just another excuse for developers to keep getting rich.
The lease goes until 2064 anyway. Doug has no right to bully people around. The true cost is all hush hush. The land has a no build status for a reason.

Sure you can get Habitat for Humanity involved but they can’t build apartment buildings last time I checked. If the land is sold and Ford can get developers to build a mix of market and affordable housing and say a new school and or community centre (perhaps a reuse of the OSC) it will be a win. It’s a prime site and much more appropriate for housing than Ontario Place.

 

[lead82]

Developers are not our enemies and we need them to build the scale of housing needed in this city. So instead of railing against developers we should look how to make the available site work best for the city and the expanded community.

 

[RGB_11]

On the topic of the election.
I predict this election will have a record low turnout as most don’t care enough to vote and all the flyers look the same - TTC safety, more housing, affordable city, cell service on the subway. Nothing about how to pay for any of it or any substantial planks on what to do for the multitude of other issues in the city.

I have no objection to a flooding of advertising on public transit to absorb cost where TTC is having trouble. I have no idea if businesses today are willing to part with their money as quick as they once did back in the early 90's though.

 

[RGB_11]

Developers are not our enemies and we need them to build the scale of housing needed in this city. So instead of railing against developers we should look how to make the available site work best for the city and the expanded community.

Developers are in it for themselves and nothing more. They want the max return on the investment and nothing more. The best question is affordable for who? When affordable housing comes into play.

 

[lead82]

I have no objection to a flooding of advertising on public transit to absorb cost where TTC is having trouble. I have no idea if businesses today are willing to part with their money as quick as they once did back in the early 90's though.

I don’t mind advertising on transit but in the past it hasn’t brought in substantial revenue. I think it’s high time to consider the revenue model of the TTC. Perhaps it’s time to raise fares higher, remove some of the discounts for seniors for example - or make them only available during the mid-day or low travel days like Monday and Friday given the new post COVID travel patterns.

It’s also high time to sell land around stand alone TTC stations to developers for housing. For example, why does any TTC subway station with a bus / tram terminal sit on prime land. It should be incorporated into a development. Sadly, Line 5 has each underground station with stand alone dedicated entrances on prime real estate that should be sold to developers. The station just needs the ground level and sub level access. All the space above it could be developed into housing.

The city should also jack up parking rates in the city, especially in zones near rapid transit. Double it - from $3/hr to $6/hr, charge each underground parking a higher tax so parking rates rise. It’s a steal to be able to park in downtown Toronto for less than $30 for the day. Add day a $10/day added. Parking downtown for the day should he say a minimum of $30, if not $40 during the business day and for special events.

This is within city control and can be done easily. We have ample transit capacity now that needs to be used. Road capacity is full. It’s a win-win.

 

[lead82]

Developers are in it for themselves and nothing more. They want the max return on the investment and nothing more. The best question is affordable for who? When affordable housing comes into play.

Of course they are. They are private businesses. However, it doesn’t make them evil. The government can give them low cost or free land in exchange they need to build truly affordable housing for let’s say those that work for minimum wage. Basic apartments with no frills - some condos and some rentals. Not luxury. The government can set what gets built on public land. The OSC lands are huge and similar size to the Celestica land. Imagine it be used to construct say 5-10,000 units, 5000 of which will be deeply affordable rentals , while rest is market housing, retail and public amenities like a community centre / school / park.

 

[T3G]

Perhaps it’s time to raise fares higher, remove some of the discounts for seniors for example - or make them only available during the mid-day or low travel days like Monday and Friday given the new post COVID travel patterns.

So in your post you allude to there being ample transit capacity left over that we need to make use of, and your proposal to do that is to screw over TTC riders even more?

 

[lead82]

So in your post you allude to there being ample transit capacity left over that we need to make use of, and your proposal to do that is to screw over TTC riders even more?

It’s not about screwing over TTC riders. It’s called paying for things we want. The city needs to raise revenue big time. It had a massive deficit and its borrowing from the future to pay for present operating expenses. That is awful and needs to be resolved. It’s why we need to elect an adult that can lead our city and make some unpopular decisions versus just typical vote buying with fake promises or begging senior governments for bail outs.

Toronto is an extremely wealthy city but we cry poor and look like a run down slum as opposed to a global city - to which we aspire to be but are not.

Toronto needs to grow up and get its house in order before begging province or feds to bail them out for its day to day operations. It can control TTc fares, and parking. I’d prefer higher fares versus more service cuts. Folks on low income already get a low fare pass. The rest of the TTC riders such as high income seniors get a discount why? What if we eliminate the senior fare entirely. It’s adults 18+. Low income seniors can get on the low fare pass.

I’m open to new ideas versus governments that do nothing.

 

[T3G]

Toronto is an extremely wealthy city but we cry poor and look like a run down slum as opposed to a global city - to which we aspire to be but are not.

I'm not saying any part of this sentence is incorrect; I share your sentiment, but I don't think going after TTC riders is as effective of a strategy as you think it is.

The TTC is in the depths of the worst PR crisis of its entire existence, and the service slashed has been additional salt in the wound. It is not realistic to expect that people will start flocking to the TTC in droves if you crank up the cost of use even more. If we assumed for a second your thesis is correct that increasing fares would earn back the money required to stave off service cuts, you would not see the effects of doing so right away, and in the interim you'd push even more people with options to drive, Uber, bike, walk, just about anything.

Transit is not supposed to be run like a business, and relying on income from fares has gotten the TTC into the state that it is today. If you want to see the TTC improve, if you want to see transit ridership increase, the governments need to start paying into the system more, and they need to actually do something about the safety concerns the city has. Whether it is accurate or hysterical sensationalism to say that the TTC has turned into Mad Max this year is completely irrelevant; this is how the public perceives the situation to be, and until they feel that something substantial has been done to right the situation, it is not going to change, whatever the statistics may suggest.

 

[RGB_11]

Transit is not supposed to be run like a business, and relying on income from fares has gotten the TTC into the state that it is today. If you want to see the TTC improve, if you want to see transit ridership increase, the governments need to start paying into the system more, and they need to actually do something about the safety concerns the city has. Whether it is accurate or hysterical sensationalism to say that the TTC has turned into Mad Max this year is completely irrelevant; this is how the public perceives the situation to be, and until they feel that something substantial has been done to right the situation, it is not going to change, whatever the statistics may suggest.

That's exactly it! It's a service, not a business. Point A to point B and back in reasonable, reliable time.
We need a Mayor that can somehow keep the fare down and service up!! Not one that pushes people to alternatives.

 

[lead82]

I agree with the premise that TTC shouldn’t be run as a business. I’m not advocating for that. What I’m saying is perhaps we over corrected and keep subsidizing people on TTC who do not need it. Professionals like me can easily pay more for riding. Same with seniors who are not on GIS.

The city needs operating funds as it’s clear the senior governments won’t bail it out. Right now it’s cutting service on the TTC. What I’m suggesting is that instead of that we raises some fares and tax parking more. Raising fares helps to fund the service but it will never fully cover operating costs.

What I’m against is having a city council and mayor of cowards who refuse to act and wait for the bail out year over year. The result is worse service and higher crime on the TTC. They refuse to fund these things. I think it’s high time we had an active Mayor who was bold and not one that just makes promises that relies on Province or Feds to pay for everything.

 

[Northern Light]

Most of Torontos waterfront is actually that - parks with trails.

Ummm, there are about 24km of Waterfront Trail (paved multi-use path) on a straight-line basis there are about 41km of shoreline, but if you actually weave in/out its closer to 113km.

So I don't think its fair to say the majority of Toronto's waterfront is 'trails'.

We know this, because @Metroscapes was kind enough to do the work for us:

Toronto Shoreline

An analysis of Toronto’s shoreline, breaking down it’s length, ownership and public access.

metroscapes.ca

Note that there are also significant remaining patches of private ownership, primarily in Etobicoke, at Lake level; though substantially more if you consider land along the top of the Scarborough Bluffs.

 

[lead82]

Ummm, there are about 24km of Waterfront Trail (paved multi-use path) on a straight-line basis there are about 41km of shoreline, but if you actually weave in/out its closer to 113km.

So I don't think its fair to say the majority of Toronto's waterfront is 'trails'.

We know this, because @Metroscapes was kind enough to do the work for us:

Toronto Shoreline

An analysis of Toronto’s shoreline, breaking down it’s length, ownership and public access.

metroscapes.ca

Note that there are also significant remaining patches of private ownership, primarily in Etobicoke, at Lake level; though substantially more if you consider land along the top of the Scarborough Bluffs.

This data actually confirms that most of the 113km is parks, beaches or bluffs which is parks. How much of the waterfront is entertainment area with things to do? Not a lot actually a bit in the downtown portion around York Quay and and some around the Polson pier and the Jarvis -Sherbourne area. The rest is mostly green space, trails, beaches, bluffs and yes some private property.

My point is we don’t have that much of an urban waterfront. So the OP redevelopment is ok to me. It still preserves the public water access and greatly improves the landscaping and features.

 

[Fresco]

I would like to see a poll conducted to see how many people are for and against moving the Science Centre to Ontario place

 

[Pacer]

I would like to see a poll conducted to see how many people are for and against moving the Science Centre to Ontario place

I'm sure the people behind the bike poll would help you with that. Their polls only have a margin of error of 49%