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SmartTrack (Proposed)

Towered said:
I for one am ripe to vote for a solid progressive candidate in the next election. I voted for John Tory and even donated to his campaign, but I've become increasingly disillusioned, especially this year, with the poor decisions he's made, as well as what seems like a swerve to the right for no reason.
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The newspapers show how much Tory is on a losing slide at this point. The Globe is the only major Torontocentric newspaper to host reader response now, but the CBC and other media outlet reader response also shows how Torontonians, by a wide margin, have turned against unbridled over-development.

Keesmaat is tapping into that. Tory is trying to, and looks pathetic doing it: (Anyone see his picture with a lectern and a closed sidewalk behind him in the press?)
A majority of Torontonians are finding continuous construction to be an “inconvenience” and “difficult” in the midst of a burgeoning number of infrastructure projects around Toronto’s downtown core.

In a telephone survey released by Forum Research, almost half of the 757 participants, 45 per cent, said that “continuous construction downtown makes it difficult to get around.” Additionally, 76 per cent disagreed with contractors and developers closing off sidewalks and traffic lanes for long-term projects.

“Torontonians are as fed up as Mayor Tory is with these constant lane closures and sidewalk diversions,” Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research President said.

“One has to ask, will Toronto ever be finished?”

What’s most notable in the poll, Bozinoff says, is that those who live closer to the downtown core are feeling more inconvenienced than those living in the suburbs. [...]
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https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...up-with-construction-closures-forum-poll.html

This is taking us off-topic somewhat, but it's also crucial to Tory losing his grip. It's not just "sidewalks being closed", that's beside the point, it's Torontonians being sold a bill of goods that never seems to improve their lot in life.

And that got me into trouble in another forum at this site. This site's cause d'etre is development for developers. And that is the back that gets broken next election.

The candidate who wins the next one will state the obvious truth: "We're being sold dreams that don't belong to us, and now we're having to pay for those dreams that never were ours to begin with. I offer a new hope to you, but it's far more down to earth and practical, but it's ours, and here's how we'll do it..."

And Smart Track won't be mentioned save for burying it, in the truest sense. Pragmatism must rule. And so must sensible planning in general. It's the new Populism for Toronto.

I was discussing exactly this issue with two separate groups of architects today. I was taken aback at how strong their reaction was. They're response was basically: "Of course it's out of control. It's Toronto".
 
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Everyone remember the Chinese proverb. "You might just get what you ask for." I'll take Mr. Tory any day over an uneducated buffoon, or a starry-eyed socialist. Only a Toronto socialist could have believed (until today) that the province was going to pay maintenance and operating costs on Transit City LRTs.

The path - at this moment - is not as direct as we'd all like to see. It was Otto von Bismarck who said, "Politics is the art of the possible." Building coalitions of votes at city hall in a partyless system no doubt takes work. This will not be the first time I have pointed out to this audience that Toronto's immature politicians are more used to begging other levels of government for money; than getting their own house in order and explaining carefully to voters the rationale for raising taxes.

Early days yet.

Want something horrific? Divide the present coalition and watch big brother Doug slide up the middle. Torontonians can elect their own Trump. It can happen here. It did six years ago.
 
"Transit planning, Tory’s argument goes, would just go swimmingly if no one was mean and raised problems. But the evolution of SmartTrack shows that’s not true. Critics have been correct about pretty much every component of Tory’s signature transit proposal so far. They said the Western Leg wasn’t feasible, and it wasn’t. They said SmartTrack and the Scarborough Subway Extension would cannibalize each other’s ridership, and City staff said that was true. They said the train frequency didn’t add up, and well, it didn’t. They said the tax increment financing numbers wouldn’t cover the cost of the proposal, as Tory said they would—even with SmartTrack Lite, City staff say that other tax revenues will be needed. They said it couldn’t be done in seven years by 2021, as Tory campaigned. City staff now project it could be done for 2026. They said that John Tory was volunteering to pay the Province to brand transit as SmartTrack for what was really already-planned GO RER service. That was mostly true."

-David Hains http://torontoist.com/2016/11/john-tory-i-know-you-are-but-what-am-i/
 
TheTigerMaster said:
"Transit planning, Tory’s argument goes, would just go swimmingly if no one was mean and raised problems. But the evolution of SmartTrack shows that’s not true. Critics have been correct about pretty much every component of Tory’s signature transit proposal so far. They said the Western Leg wasn’t feasible, and it wasn’t. They said SmartTrack and the Scarborough Subway Extension would cannibalize each other’s ridership, and City staff said that was true. They said the train frequency didn’t add up, and well, it didn’t. They said the tax increment financing numbers wouldn’t cover the cost of the proposal, as Tory said they would—even with SmartTrack Lite, City staff say that other tax revenues will be needed. They said it couldn’t be done in seven years by 2021, as Tory campaigned. City staff now project it could be done for 2026. They said that John Tory was volunteering to pay the Province to brand transit as SmartTrack for what was really already-planned GO RER service. That was mostly true."

-David Hains http://torontoist.com/2016/11/john-tory-i-know-you-are-but-what-am-i/
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So facts really are more important than opinions and politicians should get their facts straight. But sometimes those opinions are soooo alluring and the threads they weave so appealing.

Now. How to ensure the electorate can distinguish between the two?
 
steveintoronto said:
And I swear I'm neutral politically in this nation, I don't even have the vote (non-citizen), but compare that to how Trudeau handles those kinds of situations.

Polls indicate that there isn't any opponent on the horizon to challenge Tory next election. lol...they're there, they just haven't popped their heads over the hill yet.

Here's a wild one to consider: (Watch her closely, her body-English is giving it away): Jennifer Keesmaat. She hasn't a perfect record, she's flip-flopped a few times, but of course "She vaz just following orders". It is a perfect alibi, because it's true. She's going to have to start standing her ground though, perhaps even getting canned. Done properly, that will propel her to prominence. She has all the right stuff, and dare I say it in these PC times? She has the looks.
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I screwed up the Scarborough subway and downtown subway because I believed in selling ScamTrack to all of yall but I was only following orders, honest! That's a great pitch said no one ever.
 
TransitBart said:
So facts really are more important than opinions and politicians should get their facts straight. But sometimes those opinions are soooo alluring and the threads they weave so appealing.

Now. How to ensure the electorate can distinguish between the two?
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I'm not sure they can. But, I would sure as hell would like to sell them a different opinion.

Imagine if we could somehow get North York and Scarborough fully behind the Relief Line to Sheppard - the subway extension that would benefit both former municipalities the most!
 
TransitBart said:
So facts really are more important than opinions and politicians should get their facts straight. But sometimes those opinions are soooo alluring and the threads they weave so appealing.

Now. How to ensure the electorate can distinguish between the two?
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When transit politics becomes primarily a means to get elected and not about outcomes, we have a serious problem. If the argument is that people get the government that they deserve - the inaction of the last 30 years is only suggestive of that people chose inaction.

You take it out of the hands of the electorate, stat. That decision should be the one people should vote on, not micromanaging whether x should be y going to z funded by mechanism a or b or c in minutae.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
When transit politics becomes primarily a means to get elected and not about outcomes, we have a serious problem. If the argument is that people get the government that they deserve - the inaction of the last 30 years is only suggestive of that people chose inaction.

You take it out of the hands of the electorate, stat. That decision should be the one people should vote on, not micromanaging whether x should be y going to z funded by mechanism a or b or c in minutae.

AoD
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As much as I'm a chronic cynic as to the plebes taking control of their own destiny, the press is really turning on Tory...or at the very least, harshly commenting on his lack of accountability.

Marcus Gee summed it up brilliantly in his featured Globe piece today:
[...]
Every time politicians try to pull the wool over the eyes of voters, cynicism about politics grows. That cynicism makes it harder for governments to get things done, because people don’t believe what their leaders say and won’t rally behind them. As your auntie used to say, honesty is the best policy.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...t-of-smarttrack-transit-plan/article32639213/
 
BurlOak said:
Liberals promised us that the creation of Metrolinx was the means of removing politics from transit.
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Any bets as to whether the PCs will empower Metrolinx with revenue generation powers and independence? If I recall correctly, the party was only all too willing to dictate what mode the province should focus on re: GTA transit.

Oh and for your benefit - it wasn't replacing BD extension with elevated ECLRT extension.

http://www.ontariopc.com/News/Details/Statement-from-Ontario-PC-Leader-Patrick-Brown-on-Toronto-City-Council’s-Support-of-the-Scarborough-Subway

That's what I call removal of politics from transit.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
Any bets as to whether the PCs will empower Metrolinx with revenue generation powers and independence? If I recall correctly, the party was only all too willing to dictate what mode the province should focus on re: GTA transit.

Oh and for your benefit - it wasn't replacing BD extension with elevated ECLRT extension.

AoD
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When they defeat Wynne, the PC's will disband Metrolinx on the premise that decisionmaking accountability should be decentralised and returned to individual municipalities whose elected representatives would work together coorperatively and collegially to make these overarching decisions.

They would then pay their own partisan consulting companies a fortune to rebrand this forum into something with a snazzy name. Something like "Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority".

Yeah, that will work.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
When they defeat Wynne, the PC's will disband Metrolinx on the premise that decisionmaking accountability should be decentralised and returned to individual municipalities whose elected representatives would work together coorperatively and collegially to make these overarching decisions.

They would then pay their own partisan consulting companies a fortune to rebrand this forum into something with a snazzy name. Something like "Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority".

Yeah, that will work.

- Paul
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Har har har - nah, they will just resurrect the Greater Toronto Services Board and put Chong at the head again. Did they mention if funding authority would be devolved to individual municipalities - with them given additional and meaningful powers to raise money? If not, whatever.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Did they mention if funding authority would be devolved to individual municipalities - with them given additional and meaningful powers to raise money? If not, whatever.
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Nah, they'll devolve funding authority to individual municipalities WHILE downloading more infrastructure and social services costs onto them.
 
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