A region stuck in traffic
It's time to implement large-scale projects to bring transportation system into 21st century
OPINION - The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/605957
March 23, 2009
MICHAEL WARREN
FORMER CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER OF THE TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION
Sixty minutes each way: That's the average commute to and from work in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It is equivalent to three full work-months a year. No wonder there is growing anger and frustration among those who try to move around this region.
The cause is apparent. Neither the province nor the area municipalities have made major investments in the GTHA's transportation system for over a generation. They have tried to accommodate rapid population and economic growth by relying on a decades-old transportation network, one that is collapsing under the weight of endless political rhetoric and inaction.
Congestion and gridlock have become the norm. Transit has lost the battle with the car. As a result, we are suffering record levels of pollution, congestion, oil dependence and car-driven urban sprawl. The economic competitiveness of the GTHA is being diminished by our antiquated transportation system.
There is no incremental way out of this mess. The McGuinty government and the GTHA municipalities have done enough planning. It is time to begin implementing large-scale projects that will move our transportation system into the 21st century.
Two years ago the province announced the establishment of Metrolinx (formerly the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority). It was clear recognition that transportation is a regional issue that requires regional solutions. At the same time, Premier Dalton McGuinty made a widely applauded funding promise. He committed $11.5 billion to be spent on Greater Toronto transit projects.
Since then only a trickle of the promised billions has actually been invested anywhere in the GTHA. The Metrolinx board, made up of the mayors from across the region, has given Queen's Park an in-depth "common vision for transportation in the GTHA" for the next five years. But so far the board has been unable to get funds flowing from McGuinty's "MoveOntario 2020" program. Shovels need to go into the ground this year and to do that the premier has to make good on his funding promise.
As well, the original mandate of Metrolinx needs to be re-established. Metrolinx should be responsible for overall transportation planning in the GTHA. After identifying priority projects (which it has already done), Metrolinx should act as the provincial funding conduit to the municipalities in the region. Go Transit needs be transferred to Metrolinx, as originally envisioned, to give it an operational arm.
Metrolinx also needs to look at the feasibility of amalgamating all nine of the transit systems within the GTHA, including the TTC and Go Transit, into a single regional operating entity – something that many other regions in North America have already done. Existing transit fiefdoms, boundaries and rivalries are of no interest to passengers. They want a seamless regional transit network that is accessible, rapid and affordable.
The City of Toronto can also take initiatives to raise money for transit, reduce congestion and pollution. A growing number of cities have introduced "congestion" and "climate" tolls for drivers entering their inner cores. Stockholm, London and Singapore have extensive experience and proven results. The technology for applying congestion tolls is in place and fully tested.
Milan has launched a one-year trial. New York City Council has voted for a three-year trial. Stockholm adopted its congestion charge in 2007 following a seven month test. It showed a 14 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions (25,000 tons annually), and a 22 per cent reduction in traffic (100,000 passengers per day). The revenue raised from the tolls went to a transit project and inner-city road improvements.
Meanwhile, the risk-adverse Toronto City Council seems more comfortable asking for handouts from Queen's Park and Ottawa than taking action to deal with the growing gridlock on its streets. At the very least, Toronto should join the other "world class" cities that are testing this strategy. Some will argue that a recession is the wrong time to introduce a new tax. However, with everyone being forced to re-examine their own economic and environmental behaviour, it may be precisely the right time to test this idea.
It should be evident by now that there isn't enough government money to fund even a small portion of the infrastructure needs of this country's municipalities. In 2007, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities reported that Canadian cities face an infrastructure "deficit" of more than $123 billion. About $45 billion of this is for roads and transit.
The recent federal budget, despite its promised billions, comes nowhere near addressing this mammoth need for municipal capital. And the recently announced financial contributions to Union Station and GO Transit represent only a very small fraction of the $7 billion required over the next five years to meet this area's future transportation needs.
Creative cities in other countries long ago realized the limits of the public purse. They have developed the ability to work effectively with the private sector, engaging them in the financing, design, building and operation of major transportation systems. London's 118-kilometre east-west King's Cross Line is expected to bring $40 billion to the U.K. economy. It is being developed mainly with private funds. Tokyo, Madrid, Hong Kong and many other cities have used private capital to finance airports, subways and roads.
The longest bridge in the world, the Confederation Bridge that links P.E.I. to the rest of Canada, cost more than $1 billion. It was financed, built and is being operated by a private-sector consortium. The return on its investment comes from the toll revenues it receives over a 25-year period. After that, ownership of the bridge reverts to the federal government.
Despite this myriad of successful precedents, the governments responsible for getting the GTHA moving again have been reluctant to seek out private funding. The financing models usually involve an element of "user pay." As a result, the benefits of the project have to be sold to an electorate accustomed to so-called "free" infrastructure. Instead, it's easier for Metrolinx and the GTHA municipalities to maintain an illusion. They think that all of their capital needs will be met by the Ontario and federal governments, both of whom are drowning deeper in debt.
If Metrolinx is going to be a key player in building a vastly expanded GTHA transportation network, it will have to learn how to attract private capital. One of its priority projects is the much needed Union Station to Pearson airport rail link. This project has the potential for a private-public finance, construction and operations partnership. Building the link would inject 10,000 new jobs into a faltering construction industry.
There are billions of institutional dollars sitting on the sidelines in money market funds. This money is waiting for investments that will provide reasonable rates of return with modest risk once the markets bottom out. In the meantime, Metrolinx should be exploring partnership models with potential private-sector investors now, in advance of the economic recovery.
The cost of not moving ahead with Metrolinx's transportation plan for the GTHA is staggering. The TD Bank Financial Group estimates that, in the Greater Toronto Area alone, the costs of congestion, delays and wasted energy resulting from the lack of infrastructure investment are on the order of $2 billion every year.
The plan to get the GTHA moving again is already in place. Now it's time for McGuinty to "show us the money" in his forthcoming budget. And a renewed Metrolinx has to reach out to the private sector to help finance the region's long-term transportation needs.
Michael Warren is a corporate director and chairman of The Warren Group, a former Ontario deputy minister and former CEO of Canada Post Corporation.
r.michael.warren@gmail.com