Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[crs1026]

There will be no new highways in Toronto. Not unless Brown plans to bulldoze through countless neighbourhoods. Real estate is super expensive. It's not happening.

Oh, I know. But the 905 voter beckons. And those beyond the 905 understand 'stop the spending' more than they understand GTA congestion.

I'm still betting his election platform takes something off the table from the GO/RER portfolio. One more study here, a deferral there....

Not saying I like it, just thinking about how he can differentiate himself from the Liberals and take a leaner economic course.

- Paul

 

[TransitBart]

I was going to write a cranky response to @crs1026. It wasn't merited so I have not done it. Furthermore, this thought belongs in the 'stoopid things politicians say' thread or some place like that.

In mutual fund investing, the prospectus says. "Past performance is not a solid indicator of future results".

We are speculating and torturing ourselves over what a future PC government transportation policy might look like. We should evaluate a clear policy when it is presented. We should also hassle MPPs and candidates about what their views are. Speculating is only generating steam.

Mr. Brown is not likely as dense as Mr. Hudak was; notwithstanding his recent game of footie with a 19 year-old social conservative twink.

Normally, one runs on a platform which is predicated in some measure on improving people's lives. Since getting to and from work and school is an important part of many lives, it is hard to see how a repeat of recent bone-headed cut-this, cut-that performance will appeal widely.

Let's move this conversation to the right thread. Not only Mr. Brown and Mrs Wynne need to work very hard, Mr. Tory needs to as well, and when Mr Trudeau gets out of the Aga Khan's helicopter - I didn't get a helicopter ride this Christmas - there are 6 million GTA residents looking for a little federal support.

 

[TransitBart]

Not saying I like it, just thinking about how he can differentiate himself from the Liberals and take a leaner economic course.

- Paul

1. He can avoid governing in a way that should have got him charged with fraud and breach of trust like Mr McGuinty.
2. He can avoid lying around the cost of cancelling gas plants.
3. He could slim down the electricity bureaucracy.
4. He can avoid doctors running air ambulance agencies - Ornge anyone? - and enriching themselves.
5. He can avoid e-Health - where the top bureaucrat - with an unimpressive resume was paid $400,000 per year before the thing was collapsed.
6. Oh - perhaps he can state the obvious quickly when something is indefensible too. Solitary confinement for a 22 year-old in Thunder Bay for 4 years?
7. How about funding Metrolinx fully, strengthening its board, telling it that it has a very important mission to improve the quality of life in the GTHA and then hold it to high account?

Any number of statements or policies along these lines would differentiate him clearly from the incumbent government.

 

[Leo_Chan]

If we work downtown, no problem. We will keep adding peak trains.

The question is how to convince people who are going somewhere else to choose not to go by car.

Brown's solution is likely to be - more highways.

*sigh*

- Paul

Scarborough-Pickering Townline/York-Durhan Line/Kingston Road Expressway/Gardiner Expressway East? That seems like one of the least destructive highways to build in the GTA. However the Rouge Valley Conservation Park is in the way, so are many households.

 

[Leo_Chan]

When we are talking least destructive in the context of something that already has poor public rep (as it should) I think it loses a lot of possible points.

How about only 407 to 401? Virtually no destruction other than the environment. Allen and 400 extensions all go through buildings, even if tunneled.

 

[Steve X]

Is that a bit extreme? If we're going there, he's gonna fill up the Eglinton Crosstown tunnels. /sarcasm

I don't think transit is as high a priority for 905 voters as we'd like to imagine. They're already living a car-centric lifestyle. Patrick Brown can still carry the 905 without RER, while cutting billions from the budget and appearing to deal with hydro prices.

You're probably right. 95% of the population doesn't even know how RER is going to change the way of transportation in GTA. Cancelling it is no big deal to them.

 

[innsertnamehere]

They may not know above it now, but they won't like it when the headline comes around saying "Brown to cancel largest GO expansion in Ontario history"

 

[TheTigerMaster]

They may not know above it now, but they won't like it when the headline comes around saying "Brown to cancel largest GO expansion in Ontario history"

Yup, that is some powerful messaging.

I know Brown would have no problem gutting GO RER. But he also appears to be hyper-aware of the PCs appearance of being "conservative boogeymen" to most of the province, hence him telling socially conservative PC members to keep quiet. They might fear that going gangbusters on canceling transit expansion might remind Ontarians of the Haris days.

What I believe will be safe in a PC government:

- Scarborough Subway, for obvious reasons.
- Relief Line. Even Hudak supported building the complete "traditional" Relief Line. I would not be surprised to see the PCs come out in support of Relief Line Long. It probably has more support than any project in the 416 (70%+ of people approve of the proposal), and is an easy path to wining 416 ridings. At the very least, the Relief Line Short. Not supporting that would evoke images of "Conservative boogeyman" coming to cancel necessary projects and screw Torontonians.
- Finch West LRT. It'll be under construction.

Crosstown West and East are likely safe, since they don't yet have any specific funding commitments from the province.

Everything else for me is up in the air. Suburban LRT projects outside of Toronto are probably dead.

 

[TransitBart]

The only thing that will put the kibosh on fake news is people speaking up and declaring, "I call bullshit." When we get older, we get more self-conscious. That makes us less likely to call things out like the little boy in Hans Christian Anderson's folktale "The Emperor's New Clothes". I wish us all the courage to call it out and the wisdom to know when to do so.

A strong, independent free press with professional journalists who actually check facts has never been more important.

Nor has the distinction between reporting (facts) and expressing an editorial (opinion). Strongly held opinions are not facts. No matter how strongly held.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Let's just hope this whole, "fake news" thing has blown over by then.

YOU'RE FAKE NEWS!

 

[crs1026]

@TransitBart's to-do list is great, but items 1-5 were equally true at the time of the last election but Wynne got reelected anyways. A crappy Liberal party is assumed by all. I see absolutely no signs of the current PC party embracing a centrist, balanced, Davis style platform. They are likely smart enough to be graceful as opposed to angry, but they will emphasise tightfistedness and departure from the Wynne agenda.

I take some comfort that the GTA media has been climbing the learning curve with respect to transit matters. One doesn't have to agree with everything written but I give the media passing grades for learning to look past the crap and demandsome rigour and fact to support proposals. John Tory has been especially helpful in giving them pause in this respect.

The trouble with politicians seizing on a government entity as being "fat, bloated, unresponsive" is that they pick dramatic and not necessarily constructive paths to impose corrective action. Metrolinx is a prime target for the PC's to harp on - because they are fat, bloated, and unresponsive - but any wholescale restructuring will only happen at the risk of taking one's eye off the ball. What ML needs is transparency and someone to tame their inner redundancy and silo building. The work the TTC has been doing with KPMG around project management is an example of an organization coming to grips with its inner beast in a positive way. My fear is that ML becomes the next Ornge - too easy a target for the PC's to leave alone - so ML endures a period of public whipping and projects get stalled until new "controls" are in place.

Anyways, to return to topic - I agree, Crosstown extensions are something that Wynne has said the City must pay for....and I don't see the PC's changing that reality.

- Paul

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Everything else for me is up in the air. Suburban LRT projects outside of Toronto are probably dead.

Hamilton is probably dead in PC-victory. London's will be fine as it is largely funded by the city.

The real question-mark is Hurontario, but I just don't see cancelling Hurontario without losing Mississauga's votes.

 

[rbt]

They may not know above it now, but they won't like it when the headline comes around saying "Brown to cancel largest GO expansion in Ontario history"

How about Brown to optimize spending on GOs most expensive expansion in Ontario history?

Nothing in RER is getting cancelled; most parts are just going to be rescheduled. He may even use an even bigger expansion (RER on all lines including Milton and friends) as a stalling tactic to send it back to research/EA stages for 4 years (up to the government following his to actually fund construction).

 

[Palma]

Brown has been a stanch conservative forever. His fundamental political views aren't going to change over an election cycle. However he might compromise if he believe it'll win him an election

Well he sure compromised on tolls just to get the vote outside toronto

 

[Tuscani01]

You're probably right. 95% of the population doesn't even know how RER is going to change the way of transportation in GTA. Cancelling it is no big deal to them.

This has been my biggest pet peeve with the Wynne government. They have done a lot of good for the Province, but they allow the critics and opposition to rally around small issues to discredit the work the Liberals have done.

Ie. The hydro system was in shambles when the Liberals took over. We had frequent blackouts and threats of rolling brownouts during peak consumption times. Our power plants were constantly being shut down, and we suffered through many smog days. The opposition has gone after hydro prices effectively, while the Liberals remain dead silent on all of the improvements we have seen since they came into power.

Same goes for their stance on tolls/HOT/HOV lanes. The opposition has effectively taken over the discussion by calling them tax-grabs. The Province should be showing how these fees can help commuters in the long run. Explain how transformative RER will be, explain how improved transit will result in less commute time for everyone including road users, explain how this amount of investment was never seen under the previous government and that it makes sense that money will need to come from somewhere.

I do hope they eventually realize this and put together a campaign showing Ontarian's just how much better off we are today than we were under the PC's. We've come a long way since then. (Yes, there is still work that needs to be done on some issues like our healthcare system) They need to remind people of how we got to where we are today.