Politics: Tim Hudak's Plan for Ontario if he becomes Premier

[Civdis]

With the fall of the Liberals at hand, this thread becomes even more relevant.

To recap his plan

TTC
-Build the Downtown Relief Line (Line # 3?)
-Extend the Bloor-Danforth Line (Line number 2) to McCowan/Sheppard East

Suburbs
-Extend the Yonge Line to Richmond Hill (Line 1)
-IIRC, he said he would extend the subway to Mississauga from Kipling instead of building an LRT

City of Toronto
-The province would take back Allen Road, DVP and Gardiner (Maintain the Gardiner rather than destroy)

GO
-More investments in GO trains

Metrolinx's structure

-Wants to use "Transport for London" as a model to merge GO and TTC subways together
(TfL oversees London’s underground and overground systems, as well as major roads; it also plans the bus network, which is run by private companies under contract.)
-Mr. Hudak hinted this may be only the first step in a broader integration of the region’s transit systems.

Financial Plan?

-Killing most LRT's in the GTA except Hamilton (?) from the Big move plan to build the DRL instead
-Cut the all day kindergarten program + efficiencies

Not a bad plan overall

 

[MrsNesbitt]

yea if you are a transit advocate you are trading a bird in a hand (LRT) for Birds in a bush (Subway). People should really think about how much they dislike the idea of LRT vs having NO TRANSIT before voting PC.

^This. Make no mistake, the PCs in Ontario are no friends of transit - no friends of a lot of groups, in fact. A vote for Hudak is a vote against transit.

 

[sixrings]

Not a bad plan overall

not a bad plan for people adverse to taxes and transit

 

[Hopkins123]

^This. Make no mistake, the PCs in Ontario are no friends of transit - no friends of a lot of groups, in fact. A vote for Hudak is a vote against transit.

Wasn't most the the existing subway network built under PC governments' tenure?

 

[Solid Snake]

Not a bad plan overall

I like that he would upload the DVP, Gardiner and Allen Road to the province. That would relieve the city of very future expenses which could be redirected to TTC capital projects such as repairing infrastructure, extending or building streetcar lines, renovating or upgrading existing stations and improving the service level.

 

[sixrings]

I like that he would upload the DVP, Gardiner and Allen Road to the province. That would relieve the city of very future expenses which could be redirected to TTC capital projects such as repairing infrastructure, extending or building streetcar lines, renovating or upgrading existing stations and improving the service level.

why do we believe politicians? I dont believe the liberals either but at least they have shovels in the ground. I cant see the PCs uploading anything.

 

[BurlOak]

Once the election is officially called, I think the PC (and other party) transit plans will take better shape. Up until now it was difficult for the opposition parties to make any plans while the Liberals were in power and the yardsticks were continually moving.
The other thing I imagine is that any plan that is more than 5 or 6 years out will be ridiculed as pie in the sky thinking - especially since so many transit plans have been delayed so many times. Most really want to know what the promises are for the next 4 years.

 

[BurlOak]

I like that he would upload the DVP, Gardiner and Allen Road to the province. That would relieve the city of very future expenses which could be redirected to TTC capital projects such as repairing infrastructure, extending or building streetcar lines, renovating or upgrading existing stations and improving the service level.

The Allen I am not so sure about, but the other 2 make perfect sense. They are continuations of provincial highways (QEW and 404) and essentially serve a Regional purpose.

 

[gweed123]

Not a bad plan overall

A lot of those projects came with the caviat "after the budget is balanced". That's akin to building nothing.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I like that he would upload the DVP, Gardiner and Allen Road to the province. That would relieve the city of very future expenses which could be redirected to TTC capital projects such as repairing infrastructure, extending or building streetcar lines, renovating or upgrading existing stations and improving the service level.

What's the maintenance cost of said 3 expressways vs. the cost of say, the BD extension?

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Once the election is officially called, I think the PC (and other party) transit plans will take better shape. Up until now it was difficult for the opposition parties to make any plans while the Liberals were in power and the yardsticks were continually moving.
The other thing I imagine is that any plan that is more than 5 or 6 years out will be ridiculed as pie in the sky thinking - especially since so many transit plans have been delayed so many times. Most really want to know what the promises are for the next 4 years.

And subways are planned and built in 4 years. Just saying.

AoD

 

[BurlOak]

And subways are planned and built in 4 years. Just saying.

AoD

Sell, I suppose you have a point - I was more thinking along the lines of construction started and not finished.

 

[Solid Snake]

A lot of those projects came with the caviat "after the budget is balanced". That's akin to building nothing.

The way I see it is that balancing the budget can be done within a 1st mandate. No shovels would be in the ground in less than a term anyway for all those subway lines. The only funds necessary withing a first term would be the planning part of the project (bids, design and engineering) which would be in the millions of $. The billions would come much later once the construction is ready to begin. I don't see how it's misleading to say that the province would be ready to spend billions once the budget is balance. It doesn't stop them to dedicate funds from a balance project once the deficit is gone.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Once the election is officially called, I think the PC (and other party) transit plans will take better shape.

I admire your optimism.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Sell, I suppose you have a point - I was more thinking along the lines of construction started and not finished.

On that score, his government had no qualms about filling in a hole that had just started on the basis of "budget deficits" - and I believe the deficits are worse this time over.

AoD