Toronto GO Transit: Davenport Diamond Grade Separation | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

AlvinofDiaspar said:
Actually we know the entire reason Metrolinx was created was to create a firewall between the public and the province so that political meddling can be justified as "independent decision making". FTFY.
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Well, to be historically pedantic, it was created because its predecessor was a committee comprised of various elected representatives from various municipalites, who in practice represented only their own community's interests without any pretense of looking at regional needs or the greater good. Creating a higher-level body was thought to be a way of avoiding that parochial thinking. Kinda like what the Province is now doing with subway construction. The other driver was to place operations (GO Transit) within that planning framework and away from the Provincial MOT.

Not a bad idea, but just too tempting for Provincial politicians to resist meddling in.....and since Provincial money was needed, they had to be involved anyways.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
Well, to be historically pedantic, it was created because its predecessor was a committee comprised of various elected representatives from various municipalites, who in practice represented only their own community's interests without any pretense of looking at regional needs or the greater good. Creating a higher-level body was thought to be a way of avoiding that parochial thinking. Kinda like what the Province is now doing with subway construction. The other driver was to place operations (GO Transit) within that planning framework and away from the Provincial MOT.

Not a bad idea, but just too tempting for Provincial politicians to resist meddling in.....and since Provincial money was needed, they had to be involved anyways.

- Paul
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Only your last point is salient - so long as it is a provincially based body driven by provincial (not regional) interests and with provincially strung purse-strings, it will remain such. Metrolinx (and the Harris-era GTSB) has always been a load of bull governance-wise.

Unless and until we have true regional governance, these bodies are just window dressing.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Unless and until we have true regional governance, these bodies are just window dressing.
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And Regional fundraising. Let's not fool ourselves. Trudeau is not taxing Swift Current or Fredericton to offer money to GTA transit. The money Ottawa provides is raised in the GTA. Similarly, Ford is not taxing Sault Ste Marie or Windsor to fund GTA transit....it's also money raised in the GTA.

Far better to let the Region find some sort of tax base and deal with things locally. Government works best when the people who spend the money have to raise it themselves.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
There is a very real issue about public trust, and about ML's lack of accountability. Failure to act in good faith. And the stupid mumbo jumbo they put out to cover their tracks (poor choice of words, I agree). That problem will spread to future projects if not confronted.
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At this rate, the idiots at Metrolinx are going to kill the possibility of seeing any more elevated rail in this city.
 
The issue for me isn’t that the public art was cut. It is that a commitment made to the community (and potentially head off delaying lawsuits) was cut.

The second is the strictures modern government puts on public service. Phil Verster should have been able to say “the government says they can’t give me the money the last one promised”. Instead he comes out, presumably at ministerial direction, with “I told the government they could keep their money as I didn’t need it”. Cuts to projects like this and the track capacity expansion on LSE give the lie to Verster’s messaging.

Combine those two and you get unaccountable public service.

I like AMA - any other comms person would do the less helpful parts of her job the same way because that’s the job; but she does well with some of the positive parts. As with Brad Ross, I doubt she would find it hard to get a good follow up gig when she gets tired of her bosses directing her to find ways to tell passengers it’s raining when the stuff falling seems yellow and smelly.
 
dowlingm said:
I like AMA - any other comms person would do the less helpful parts of her job the same way because that’s the job; but she does well with some of the positive parts. As with Brad Ross, I doubt she would find it hard to get a good follow up gig when she gets tired of her bosses directing her to find ways to tell passengers it’s raining when the stuff falling seems yellow and smelly.
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AMA is unbearable - wrapping herself with emotive BS and dishing out mostly BS. Useless, in other words. Case in point - every track fatality becomes a thoughts and prayers fest. Pure ineffective Soma - you might get better results listening to Yanni.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
AMA is unbearable - wrapping herself with emotive BS and dishing out mostly BS. Useless, in other words. Case in point - every track fatality becomes a thoughts and prayers fest.

AoD
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She cannot grasp the fact that her twitter account is both her private account and one for Metrolinx PR. I follow her to get updates on Metrolinx matters, but most of her posts are about her family and views from her balcony. I get 15 year old salivating for 'likes', but her?!
 
raptor said:
She cannot grasp the fact that her twitter account is both her private account and one for Metrolinx PR. I follow her to get updates on Metrolinx matters, but most of her posts are about her family and views from her balcony. I get 15 year old salivating for 'likes', but her?!
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I don't really mind the family and balcony stuff, it's harmless (though I argue humanizing is a strategy against criticism - most people are less inclined to be critical if there is visible person at the other end). Twisting and tossing this way and that instead of straight answers with official GO/Mlinx issues on the other hand is unacceptable. Excluding the personal, the noise to info ratio is *really* low. Frankly it is a placation channel - given how pathetic the actual GO/Metrolinx social media operation is (i.e. delay bingo)

AoD
 
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