jje1000
Senior Member
Transit planning a waste of time? We have another Mike Harris waiting in the wings.
I have that gut feeling that our streetcars are not going to make it if Hudak gets in.
Transit planning a waste of time? We have another Mike Harris waiting in the wings.
P.P.S. On another topic: Regarding Transit City, I wasn't aware of this, but maybe it's just because I don't follow these things as closely as some of you do:
Peak ridership for the Eglinton section of the Eglinton-Crosstown is projected to hit 12000 pphpd, in 2031. This is an enormous increase from the projected numbers from Transit City's Eglinton section (5000 pphpd), because most of those people coming from the outer parts would have just transferred from the LRT to Bloor-Danforth.
What was the max capacity in terms of passengers per hour per direction for the Transit City LRT design?
I have that gut feeling that our streetcars are not going to make it if Hudak gets in.
Hudak wants to end ‘war on cars’
DUNDAS, ONT.—Ontario’s Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader said Saturday he wants to end Premier Dalton McGuinty’s “war on the car,” borrowing a phrase from the successful election campaign of Toronto’s right-leaning mayor.
Tim Hudak is spending Saturday in the Hamilton and Niagara areas, where he said if he is premier after the Oct. 6 election he will make sure a highway is constructed through the region.
“A good highway route like that would not only create jobs in building it, but most importantly will attract new businesses to our area and help to break the gridlock, because families are spending far too much time stuck in their cars and not home with the kids,” Hudak said.
There is some opposition to the project from local residents, who worry the highway would negatively affect environmentally sensitive areas.
Susan McMaster, co-chair of the group Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment, sought Hudak out as he popped into businesses in downtown Dundas. She said the highway isn’t needed for the area and is an “utter waste of money.”
“At this point we need our food supply. We don’t need this highway,” McMaster said after Hudak walked away. “We’re talking about some of the last viable farmland in the area and they want to pave right through it.”
Hudak later defended his plan: “There’s some people who don’t want to build highways in our province. I do.”
He has previously said the exact location of the highway would have to be determined through public hearings and consultations with communities, though he said it will probably start along the Queen Elizabeth Way outside Fort Erie and head west, south of the Niagara Escarpment, toward the Hamilton airport.
Last year the Liberals shelved plans for a mid-peninsula highway after a Ministry of Transportation study said the four-lane expressway wouldn’t be needed for at least another 20 years.
An alternate route to the QEW from Niagara to Hamilton has been talked about for decades. It was last championed by former Conservative premier Mike Harris, but fell out of favour when the Liberals were elected in 2003.
Hudak said a plan to build the highway is part of an overall strategy to ease congestion on Ontario’s major roads.
“We’ve set aside $35 billion for infrastructure investments, largely targeted at breaking gridlock and helping families spend more time together, getting goods to market,” he said. “It’s a balanced plan. So yes, it’s highways, yes it’s transit. We’ve got to get the right balance and we need to end the war on the car that we’ve seen from the McGuinty Liberals.”
The phrase “war on cars” was used by Rob Ford in his victorious run for Toronto mayor last year on a campaign that included issues targeted at commuter and suburban communities. He, too, pledged to end a war on cars.
Ford has decided not to endorse any party in the Ontario election. In May, he threw his support and the weight of what he calls “Ford Nation” behind Prime Minister Stephen Harper just days before the federal election.
The lack of an official endorsement from Ford may prove a saving grace for Hudak, as polls suggest Ford’s strong approval ratings have been slipping and he has been pilloried over potential cuts to services and programs. Ford did not say why he’s not wading into this campaign.
I think a Hudak minority is extremely unlikely. That would mean that the NDP/Liberals have more seats ... so I figure they'd be the minority ...
No ... the party in power calls the shots. The Liberals could get less seats than the Tories, however if the number of Liberal and NDP seats exceed the Tories, McGuinty could choose to try and govern."Extremely unlikely"? Oh really? When the dust settles on e-day, whoever wins the most seats gets to call the shots
Possible, but unlikely. Probably more wishful thinking than anything.The Liberals could get less seats than the Tories, however if the number of Liberal and NDP seats exceed the Tories, McGuinty could choose to try and govern.
Why unlikely? Liberal premier Peterson had no trouble governing for over 2 years with less seats than the Tories, before there was another election and the Liberals got a majority.Possible, but unlikely. Probably more wishful thinking than anything.
Sorry for another off topic post, but:Why unlikely? Liberal premier Peterson had no trouble governing for over 2 years with less seats than the Tories, before there was another election and the Liberals got a majority.
"Any discussion about whether or not (Transit City) get revisited would be done in conjunction with Metrolinx," said TTC chair Karen Stintz.
Former TTC vice chair Joe Mihevc believes "anything is possible in terms of Transit City" and thinks if the Liberals return to office at Queen's Park after election day, it increases the chances the plan could return.