2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Transit Plans

[salsa]

How did the wye add a billion dollars to the cost of Sheppard Subway? The entire line (Yonge to Don Mills) costed us $1 Billion to build. So unless the exclusion of the wye would have brought the cost of the Sheppard Subway down to $0...

Looks like an error to me, but his argument still stands.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Yes. Other than that I agree with him wholeheartedly.

 

[GenerationW]

They exist at their current size. I can guarantee both departments will grow in staffing levels and salary; those contract negotiations are a foregone conclusion and nobody seems interested in having a debate about it (Soknaki is trying but not getting any bites). Incidentally, cutting the police budget by 10% would fully fund the first phase of the DRL over a 40 year period without any other revenue sources (province) or tax increases.

In fact, I bet new spending for Police/Fire over the next 4 years is quite a bit higher than the price of the EA for the DRL.

Doing the DRL EA isn't something worth discussing. Everybody in a position of authority agrees it needs to happen and it is scheduled to happen. The only thing election debate can do at this point is cause delays.

That's a discussion worth having, but it's debating how they should exist going forward (budgets, salaries, staffing, etc.) instead of whether should they exist at all. You seem to have confidence in the inevitability of the DRL. I don't.

For the record, I agree with Soknacki about the police budget.

 

[dunkalunk]

The city, as a whole, has to find a way to allow for deliveries & pick=ups along arterial roads but not on the arterial traffic lanes themselves. This maybe laneways, this maybe lay-bys, this maybe sidestreets, this maybe delivery lots. Delivery trucks shouldn't have to block traffic to make deliveries.

Maybe these delivery companies can save some money by hiring messangers on cargo bikes to do their last-mile service from the local distribution centre/PO?

 

[rbt]

You seem to have confidence in the inevitability of the DRL. I don't.

I think the main reason the province is focusing on GO RER projects is manipulation and indecision by city council. They don't require the opinion of Toronto city council, which has been hostile to transit, to accomplish something useful. That said, the DRL is currently on Metrolinx's list of priorities and they've made a statement saying that GO enhancements are not enough to replace the need for the DRL.

Metrolinx and TTC are currently committed to doing an EA which actually had meetings starting in April. Tory's already stalled this process by promising a solution which is outside the approved scope of the Regional Relief Line (Metrolinx's name for it) and being a front-runner in the election.

The DRL is in danger of being stalled for years by political interference. Left to his own devices I think Metrolinx and Byford would at least get it to the engineering stage as they already have the money and approval necessary to do that.

 

[salsa]

It's John Tory, after all. He doesn't give a $%&* about cyclists. They should be learning golf instead and making business contacts.

John Tory has this small minded ideology, in which anything that increases commute times is a non-starter. Of course, by "commute times" he's talking about motorists only. The crosstown + Eglinton Connects will improve most people's commute times when it opens. But if you happen to be part of the small minority that drives on Eglinton, your 5 minute trip might become 5 and a half minutes instead. Therefore Tory can't approve of these "congestion causing narrowing of lanes" (an actual quote from his website), benefits be darned. He panders to the ex-Ford suburban motorists who want to impose their stupid way of life on the rest of the city, and hog every square inch of road space for themselves. I was open minded enough to consider Tory initially, but this was the final nail in the coffin for me.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Soknacki wants free transit between 6 and 7
http://www.soknacki2014.com/soknacki_will_provide_immediate_transit_relief

 

[ehlow]

Soknacki wants free transit between 6 and 7
http://www.soknacki2014.com/soknacki_will_provide_immediate_transit_relief

Wow.. bold idea.

I like this too:

STOP ‘BUNCHING’ OF EMPTY BUSES, STREETCARS
Soknacki would insist that the TTC use simple GPS apps and make specific shift and management changes to end “bunching” of empty buses and streetcars, making better use of existing rush hour capacity. Soknacki has already made this commitment personally to streetcar riders in frequent streetcar stop canvasses.

 

[W. K. Lis]

A heavy rail subway in each and every councillor's ward, or nothing.

We need to take such thinking out of the politicians' mind.

 

[WislaHD]

A heavy rail subway in each and every councillor's ward, or nothing.

We need to take such thinking out of the politicians' mind.

I don't know how you would enforce this.

Say only mayoral candidates (no councilman) are allowed to propose big money ($1B+) infrastructural projects during election races?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Wow.. bold idea.

I like this too:

All I need is for Soknacki to support the Transit City bus plan and he'll have my vote 100% for sure

We're $120 Million (capital) away from a vastly superior bus system. C'mon Sok, you can do it!

By the way, Soknacki has two more transit announcements. They'll be released next week.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I think this just sealed the deal for me and Soknacki. He's the only one of the candidates that has applied sound logic and/or facts to every single thing he's supported. Everyone else is using platitudes and political pandering. I don't even care about strategically voting for Chow to keep Ford out anymore.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Wow.. bold idea.

I like this too:

These too:

TIME-OF-DAY/OFF-PEAK DISCOUNTS ONCE PRESTO IS FULLY ONLINE
“Free” Early Bird fares would be replaced with discounted fares for off-peak travel once Presto was fully operational, approximately 4-5 years from now. “It’d be preferable to use discounts instead of free fares in the 6am-7am period, but without Presto in place, it’s logistically difficult to offer proper time-of-day discounts,” Soknacki said.

For the past few months I've been insisting that off peak travel should be discounted to encourage higher transit usage.

PROOF-OF-PAYMENT BOARDING SYSTEMWIDE
Several major transit systems speed up boarding by allowing for rear door and ‘proof-of-payment boarding across the system. However, the TTC only does this on three streetcar lines. Soknacki would ask the TTC to run a one-month pilot with (increased enforcement) to confirm that system-wide rear-door/POP boarding on buses and streetcars would improve speed and loading efficiency for rush-hour buses and streetcars.

 

[ehlow]

These too:



For the past few months I've been insisting that off peak travel should be discounted to encourage higher transit usage.

Yup, those are good ideas as well.

 

[11th]

Gee, no mention of how these trucks are blocking bike lanes too? It's all about the car.

The talk about how transit should be given priority since it carries more people and thus represents a majority (makes sense), and then the talk about how we should give more space for bikes, although it definitely doesn't represent a "majority". Where's the logic?