A
ahrvojic
Guest
Article
Transit lacks leader: Critics
No big-picture plan on the table
46% of residents call issue `crucial'
Nov. 7, 2006. 06:35 AM
DAVID BRUSER
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
There's no one driving a city-wide transportation agenda.
That's according to several transit experts who say they can draw the map, but it's up to the next mayor to navigate.
They say that person, whether David Miller or challenger Jane Pitfield, needs a broad vision that sees beyond ward boundaries; finds ways to accommodate the streetcars and buses that so many of us use; and connects with the fast-growing 905 region.
It is something, they say, Miller has not done well enough.
"He's hasn't been the flag-bearer," said transit consultant Ed Levy. "He hasn't been noisy enough. Mel Lastman was too noisy. David is perhaps too much the other way. He's popular.
"I think a lot of people would be behind him."
For its attraction to armchair quarterbacks, the transportation issue in Toronto seems unparalleled — and for good reason. It remains a top voter concern.
A recent Toronto Star/Decima poll shows 46 per cent of Torontonians believe transit and traffic issues are "crucial."
Another 36 per cent say the issues are "very important," while the remaining 18 per cent call the transportation issues "fairly important."
Miller's transit platform focuses on improving surface routes for buses and streetcars.
Challenger Jane Pitfield's plan centres on building 50 kilometres of subway in 25 years.
While the incumbent's transit leadership came under fire, Councillor Pitfield's plan generated little enthusiasm among the experts interviewed by the Star.
"Pitfield can talk about two kilometres of subway (a year). Where's she going to get the money?" Levy asked. "Oh, she's going to have greater efficiency at city hall.
"Where have we heard that before, and how many times?"
Most also support Miller's election focus on streetcar rights-of-way and dedicated bus lanes.
Paul Bedford, former city planner and father of Toronto's official plan, says, "Sixty per cent of all the passengers of the TTC are on the surface not the subway. It's really important to get dedicated rights-of-way that work."
No one disputes the city needs more money.
But it's not just the lack of money hobbling our transit system, say several of the experts who question the decision-making.
Some wonder if the Miller-backed subway extension to York University is the right path. "Those decisions are being made ad hoc. The (city's) official plan, which I worked on, talks about intensification and redevelopment around subway stations," says transit expert Richard Soberman.
If Soberman had $1 billion, he would start building an Eglinton subway line. The Eglinton corridor "has got the highest density potential for ridership," Soberman said. "I think the Eglinton bus carries more people than other bus lines in the city and more than the Sheppard subway."
Though Miller says, "Integration with the 905 is very important," Jim Mars, an urban planning professor at Ryerson University, says the city has not focused enough on the region.
`Eight out of 10 transit riders of systems (in the GTA), including GO, take the TTC'
Mayor David Miller
He and others criticize the TTC's lukewarm response to the idea of a regionwide fare card system that the current mayor and TTC chair Howard Moscoe say is expensive.
"It is ridiculous," Soberman said. "The growth in the GTA is predominantly outside of the city of Toronto. "An integrated fare system with York Region and Mississauga Transit and GO over the long haul is in Toronto's interest."
And to win more of those 905 riders for the TTC, the mayor should shake up the commission, either replacing the chair or some of the commissioners with others not running for public office.
"He obviously has influence on who gets appointed to what," Soberman said.
Mayor Miller scoffed at the criticism, saying a public system needs to be accountable and chair Howard Moscoe is the right man for the job. And neither Miller nor Moscoe apologize for their Toronto focus.
"Eight out of 10 transit riders of systems (in the GTA), including GO, take the TTC," Miller said.
"Our challenges ... aren't about the cross-border transit rider. They're about being able to afford keeping buses on the road."
Nonetheless, as Levy points out, the Toronto transit system is "not oriented to the 150 or so little employment districts throughout the huge suburban area."
To fix that, he and others have some ideas:
A dedicated bus or light-rail line running along the Finch hydro corridor. "I think that would be a damn good one to look at. That extends into Durham and Peel. It's 500 feet wide," Levy says.
Build more bike lanes and more pedestrian-friendly streets. For the city's failure to build as many bike lanes as promised, Miller blames councillors who can't see beyond their ward where constituents oppose such changes.
Improve the arterial road network. Once into Toronto, the major Durham thoroughfare, Taunton Rd., Levy notes, cuts down to a "rural two-lane" road. Or try connecting Leslie St.'s northern arm to its southern counterpart.
"There's going to be some loss of parkland, some effect on residents. A lot of people are going to object to anything that helps cars," Mars says of the Leslie St. idea.
"But we are not providing a perfect transit system. We need to have a good road system."
The city should back a provincially chartered subway development corporation with expropriation powers and the ability to issue long-term bonds, says Richard Gilbert, former city councillor and now an urban issues consultant."What you need to do is ensure that by the time the subway opens within a year or two around each station there are roughly 40,000 people living or working within roughly a square kilometre. It's what people will walk to a subway," he said.
And when these potentially controversial projects face opposition from residents in affected neighbourhoods, that's when a mayor with a vision steps in to push it through.
"They've got to be fought for and nobody's doing it," Levy said.
As Soberman points out, each neighbourhood has different needs."Anyone south of St. Clair prefers Second Cup and Timothy's and anyone north of St. Clair prefers Tim Hortons," he said.
"The mayor's the only elected official who can be totally neutral because he doesn't represent any one area of the city. The responsibility falls to the mayor."
Transit lacks leader: Critics
No big-picture plan on the table
46% of residents call issue `crucial'
Nov. 7, 2006. 06:35 AM
DAVID BRUSER
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
There's no one driving a city-wide transportation agenda.
That's according to several transit experts who say they can draw the map, but it's up to the next mayor to navigate.
They say that person, whether David Miller or challenger Jane Pitfield, needs a broad vision that sees beyond ward boundaries; finds ways to accommodate the streetcars and buses that so many of us use; and connects with the fast-growing 905 region.
It is something, they say, Miller has not done well enough.
"He's hasn't been the flag-bearer," said transit consultant Ed Levy. "He hasn't been noisy enough. Mel Lastman was too noisy. David is perhaps too much the other way. He's popular.
"I think a lot of people would be behind him."
For its attraction to armchair quarterbacks, the transportation issue in Toronto seems unparalleled — and for good reason. It remains a top voter concern.
A recent Toronto Star/Decima poll shows 46 per cent of Torontonians believe transit and traffic issues are "crucial."
Another 36 per cent say the issues are "very important," while the remaining 18 per cent call the transportation issues "fairly important."
Miller's transit platform focuses on improving surface routes for buses and streetcars.
Challenger Jane Pitfield's plan centres on building 50 kilometres of subway in 25 years.
While the incumbent's transit leadership came under fire, Councillor Pitfield's plan generated little enthusiasm among the experts interviewed by the Star.
"Pitfield can talk about two kilometres of subway (a year). Where's she going to get the money?" Levy asked. "Oh, she's going to have greater efficiency at city hall.
"Where have we heard that before, and how many times?"
Most also support Miller's election focus on streetcar rights-of-way and dedicated bus lanes.
Paul Bedford, former city planner and father of Toronto's official plan, says, "Sixty per cent of all the passengers of the TTC are on the surface not the subway. It's really important to get dedicated rights-of-way that work."
No one disputes the city needs more money.
But it's not just the lack of money hobbling our transit system, say several of the experts who question the decision-making.
Some wonder if the Miller-backed subway extension to York University is the right path. "Those decisions are being made ad hoc. The (city's) official plan, which I worked on, talks about intensification and redevelopment around subway stations," says transit expert Richard Soberman.
If Soberman had $1 billion, he would start building an Eglinton subway line. The Eglinton corridor "has got the highest density potential for ridership," Soberman said. "I think the Eglinton bus carries more people than other bus lines in the city and more than the Sheppard subway."
Though Miller says, "Integration with the 905 is very important," Jim Mars, an urban planning professor at Ryerson University, says the city has not focused enough on the region.
`Eight out of 10 transit riders of systems (in the GTA), including GO, take the TTC'
Mayor David Miller
He and others criticize the TTC's lukewarm response to the idea of a regionwide fare card system that the current mayor and TTC chair Howard Moscoe say is expensive.
"It is ridiculous," Soberman said. "The growth in the GTA is predominantly outside of the city of Toronto. "An integrated fare system with York Region and Mississauga Transit and GO over the long haul is in Toronto's interest."
And to win more of those 905 riders for the TTC, the mayor should shake up the commission, either replacing the chair or some of the commissioners with others not running for public office.
"He obviously has influence on who gets appointed to what," Soberman said.
Mayor Miller scoffed at the criticism, saying a public system needs to be accountable and chair Howard Moscoe is the right man for the job. And neither Miller nor Moscoe apologize for their Toronto focus.
"Eight out of 10 transit riders of systems (in the GTA), including GO, take the TTC," Miller said.
"Our challenges ... aren't about the cross-border transit rider. They're about being able to afford keeping buses on the road."
Nonetheless, as Levy points out, the Toronto transit system is "not oriented to the 150 or so little employment districts throughout the huge suburban area."
To fix that, he and others have some ideas:
A dedicated bus or light-rail line running along the Finch hydro corridor. "I think that would be a damn good one to look at. That extends into Durham and Peel. It's 500 feet wide," Levy says.
Build more bike lanes and more pedestrian-friendly streets. For the city's failure to build as many bike lanes as promised, Miller blames councillors who can't see beyond their ward where constituents oppose such changes.
Improve the arterial road network. Once into Toronto, the major Durham thoroughfare, Taunton Rd., Levy notes, cuts down to a "rural two-lane" road. Or try connecting Leslie St.'s northern arm to its southern counterpart.
"There's going to be some loss of parkland, some effect on residents. A lot of people are going to object to anything that helps cars," Mars says of the Leslie St. idea.
"But we are not providing a perfect transit system. We need to have a good road system."
The city should back a provincially chartered subway development corporation with expropriation powers and the ability to issue long-term bonds, says Richard Gilbert, former city councillor and now an urban issues consultant."What you need to do is ensure that by the time the subway opens within a year or two around each station there are roughly 40,000 people living or working within roughly a square kilometre. It's what people will walk to a subway," he said.
And when these potentially controversial projects face opposition from residents in affected neighbourhoods, that's when a mayor with a vision steps in to push it through.
"They've got to be fought for and nobody's doing it," Levy said.
As Soberman points out, each neighbourhood has different needs."Anyone south of St. Clair prefers Second Cup and Timothy's and anyone north of St. Clair prefers Tim Hortons," he said.
"The mayor's the only elected official who can be totally neutral because he doesn't represent any one area of the city. The responsibility falls to the mayor."