Rob Ford's Toronto

[historydude2012]

The SRT itself isn't that bad, just everything about it. Why didn't the TTC ever order more trains as it hit capacity? Why did they not put in more escalators at Kennedy and Scarborough Centre? Why is there a recycling plant pumping noxious fumes into Ellesmere and Midland stations, rather than a transit oriented development?

My understanding is the vehicles are rather old. I'm not sure on the life expectancy of them or any kind of increase in repair costs that go along with keeping them around. Ordering more vehicles back then would have made sense but I guess there were other priorities at the time. Plus the major examples of condo development around the Scarborough Town Centre I would imagine are rather recent (within the last 10 ish years I'd say) so there was only so much demand before that point? (just a guess).

 

[Adjei]

According to Rob Ford:

"You might want the best transit system in the world, but if the average person cannot afford it, then I’m sorry, we can’t move ahead. We have to find alternative ways of doing this."

So since we can't afford it, we should just sit there and do nothing. We have been doing nothing and complaining for 30 years now. The alternatives you have proposed have not gotten us any money to build transit. It's a good thing more and more people are seeing where Ford stands on transit.

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Not going to post the entire thing because it belongs elsewhere, but I find this a fairly clever move by Stintz despite being awful for transit improvements in the short run. By sacrificing the Scarborough LRT in lieu of a Scarborough Subway, she eliminates one of Ford's talking points- that Scarborough deserves a subway. Moreso, this essentially puts Ford on a bind- does he want his subway or does he want no taxes? It'll be interesting how he'll handle this.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...t-scarborough-subway-revived/article11586060/

I wonder if the Scarborough Subway idea is being resurrected because some are not satisfied with TTC's game plan on running shuttle buses when the line is shut down and being converted to LRT?

 

[Voltz]

I wonder if the Scarborough Subway idea is being resurrected because some are not satisfied with TTC's game plan on running shuttle buses when the line is shut down and being converted to LRT?

No I think it's just being done for political reasons, and because enough idiots are complaining about how they deserve subways.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

No I think it's just being done for political reasons, and because enough idiots are complaining about how they deserve subways.

And probably because the subway plan is as good or better than the SRT from a transit development POV for the same price or marginally more. Glad to see some common sense down on Queen Street.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Yeah, because nobody on here ever makes fun of the mayor's weight/appearance.

Hawc - Ford is fat and ugly. So, yes, it's an easy cheap shot. But Miller was made fun of for the hair, Mel for the hair plugs, Hall for not being Monica Bellucci. What makes Ford supporters so much more sensitive about any mention of this obesity? IMHO, it's because they can't support him for ANY policy he has implemented (with the possible exception of the garbage outsourcing) and so must defend his idiocies, his outlandish statements, or counterattack re: remarks about his fat/ugliness. So, have at it, as it gives you something to defend. But he's still an incompetent mayor.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Let's not forget the Conservatives scrapping the Long Gun Registry...

Not the same thing, regardless of your political leanings. They scrapped it for ideological reasons, not due to concern over costs, and there were no penalties in any contracts.

 

[Lenser]

To be fair, the conservatives hated the Long Gun Registry for ideological reasons and the top-heavy, expensive bureaucracy it entailed. The classic stance is: more government equals more civil servants sucking at the public teat.

 

[W. K. Lis]

To be fair, the conservatives hated the Long Gun Registry for ideological reasons and the top-heavy, expensive bureaucracy it entailed. The classic stance is: more government equals more civil servants sucking at the public teat.

Now if those civil servants were outsourced to the Far East, to save on wages (especially union wages)...

(Sarcastic)

 

[Lenser]

Sarcasm noted! But really, once your votes win the day, a different set of rules apply. Once in the big chair, you tend to figure you're entitled to your entitlements. So it goes... left, right, and all points in between. The eternal battle between left and right is very much pot and kettle, because abuses of power are blind to ideology - equal opportunity temptations.

 

[historydude2012]

Doug Ford again repeated again on that radio show that his brother won "the largest mandate in Canadian history".

Sigh...can we stop with this grandstanding and blatant lying? I know its politics but come on.

Obviously it is not the largest mandate in Canadian mayoral election history. In fact its not even the largest in Toronto's history. Even for first time elections (so the first election any person is elected mayor) Mel Lastman beat Rob Ford by 3,000 votes in terms of total number of votes in his first run for Toronto's mayoral office (and that was way back in 1997 when the population was obviously smaller).

 

[Peepers]

I like how Peepers tries to 'pivot' too by claiming a time machine to reverse Liberal boondoggles would net us all the money we need. Hey, so would the money wasted on G8/G20/gazebos. On blowing money on prisons for all those unreported crimes? Oh, and how about those F-35s? See, I can do it too!

.

I am not under any illusion that we can magically recover the $Billions that have been squandered and or plundered by the Liberals at Queens Park. That money is gone for good. To the extent that laws were broken (and I believe they were) all we can do is prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law.

The point that I was making is that we must debunk - once and for all - this myth being created that we must raise taxes to fund new transit because there is absolutely no way to make what would be modest cuts in the current budget to fund needed expansion.

What is frustrating for me is to see how lousy a salesman Rob Ford is on this issue (as with many issue, e.g. Casino, Porter). All you hear from Ford is "people are sick of paying more taxes". That's not a good enough argument. He needs to demonstrate how new taxes are not required and that this is just a ploy by the Liberals at Queens Park.

 

[cdr108]

According to Rob Ford:

"You might want the best transit system in the world, but if the average person cannot afford it, then I’m sorry, we can’t move ahead. We have to find alternative ways of doing this."

So since we can't afford it, we should just sit there and do nothing. We have been doing nothing and complaining for 30 years now. The alternatives you have proposed have not gotten us any money to build transit. It's a good thing more and more people are seeing where Ford stands on transit.

hey Rob Frod, isn't that what a whole bunch of people are telling you about building a Sheppard subway line?
we can't afford it unless we find a source of funding beyond what is already there for the LRT.

the funding is there for the LRT, so why object to building it?
it'll serve the areas ridership capacity for the estimated population for the next 25 years, covers a longer stretch of Sheppard Ave East than the subway proposal and we have funding.

RF's private funding that he said would pay for it has not materialized.
GTA’s developers were unhappy with development charges that Chong proposes and the creation of a tax zone stretching 800 metres on each side of the Sheppard line and the Eglinton LRT (credit to Toronto Star). Essentially the developers are not willing to pay for it.

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...deem_subway_funding_risky_and_unworkable.html

 

[TheTigerMaster]

What is frustrating for me is to see how lousy a salesman Rob Ford is on this issue (as with many issue, e.g. Casino, Porter). All you hear from Ford is "people are sick of paying more taxes". That's not a good enough argument. He needs to demonstrate how new taxes are not required and that this is just a ploy by the Liberals at Queens Park.

Well can you please get SOMEONE how we can build transit without new revenue tools. For the past three years I've been hearing everyone and their dog screaming about how we can build $50 Billion worth of transit without raising taxes via the use of "efficiencies". At the same time, not one of them coming up a plan to do this. I'll support the fabeled efficiencies when someone shows me a legitimate plan to do it. But until then the Liberal plan is the best we have.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Well can you please get SOMEONE how we can build transit without new revenue tools. For the past three years I've been hearing everyone and their dog screaming about how we can build $50 Billion worth of transit without raising taxes via the use of "efficiencies". At the same time, not one of them coming up a plan to do this. I'll support the fabeled efficiencies when someone shows me a legitimate plan to do it. But until then the Liberal plan is the best we have.

Well, starting at the province, I'd say preventing waste is a good efficiency, and could free up the provincial coffers to contribute more to urban mass transit. For example, let's take the combined waste of just three Ontario programs:

1) Gas plant relocation fees - est. $733 million to $1 billion
2) eHealth poor execution - est. $1 billion in unnecessary spending
3) Ornge air ambulance poor execution - no govt oversight of $700 million budget (unnecessary spending $ TBA)
4) Bonuses for everyone - in 2011 98% of ON govt managers rec'd a bonus payout, cost $37 million

There's at least two billion dollars right here in wasteful spending. Imagine if the province instead had allocated those funds to building mass transit in urban centers. Hopefully Toronto would have rec'd at least one third of this, so that $600 million. Since this level of waste happens everyday in govt, let's have the province instead give the $600 to the TTC annually instead. No you can't build subways with $600 million, but with this amount each year you can get started.

This is what people mean by efficiencies. It's another word for waste.