ssiguy2
Senior Member
TigerMaster......
Yes, I know what Queen's Park is and I know a lot about Ontario and Toronto. I was borm and raised in London and went to school in Ottawa and Toronto. I spent the first 25 years of my life in Ontario and go back to Lon/Tor every year.
If you do not believe TTC boundaries or tranference over to Metrolinx is possible or even wanted fine but why the hell does Miss and Bram have different systems? It is lunacy for there to have more than one transit authority for each Regional Municipality. If memory serves there are 10 different transit system outside the TTC & GO when there should only be 4...Peel, York, Halton, and Durham. That is one thing that York Region got right.
As far as blaming Queen's Park and Ottawa there is some validity in that but no more of a burden than other Ontario cities have to live under and same for everyother city in the country when it comes to funds from Ottawa.
As far as blaming Ford, again some validity but Miller didn't help. He completely ignored the DRL and TC's price take soared 50% within 18 months of it being announced. His LRT or nothing mentality did also not acknowwledge the reality that some areas needed total grade separation like Eglinton or using BRT along Hydro corridors. Ford may have cancelled Sheppard but where the hell is the TTC on extending DM to Consumer thru a tunnel? Miller's plan included a tunnel thru that stretch as well so why isn't it being built right now. Why did Miller insist on tunnels on the Spadina ext when the only area that needed tunneling was the relatively small section under York. Why the Taj Majal like stations in a city that can't afford it............that was MIller's doing not Ford's.
It was Miller that turned a potential city wide rapid transit LRT network into an improved local service system but putting stations every 2 to 3 blocks. It was Miller who created a totally disjointed TC system where one was going to have to transfer onto another LRT eventhough one would be going the same direction on the same road ala Eglinton/Kingston LRTs. Why didn't Miller put his foot down in the first place and state categorically that the ARL would use EMUs instead of diesel..........he could have played hardball and used obstruction against Metrolinx.
As far as Miller and Ford, neither one has even considered actually paying for ANY of the TTC lines themselves. No other city on this planet expects senior levels of government to pay for 100% of their transit infrastructure costs but Toronto does. Kitchener, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton are all contributing a good chunk of their own funds and hence are getting rapid transit expansion but even the idea of that in Toronto is heresy. Toronto thru the new City of Toronto Act actually have more rerenue power than anyother jurisdiction in Ontario but the idea of paying their fair share is still out of the question whether.
How can Toronto bitch at Ottawa when Ottawa offered $300 million for TC which is exactly $300 million more than Toronto has? This made worse by the fact that they haven't used any of it yet while it could be using it right now to build the DM to Consumers tunnel?
Ford maybe an idiot but Miller flately refused to put his money where his TC mouth was. According to Miller Toronto desperatly need TC { and only his version} but apparently not enough to cough up on dime to help pay for it.
Toronto's refusal to pay for any of it own infrastructure, poor planning, political ineptitudes at City Hall, bureaucratic inertia, enviornmental assesments that have turned into 3 year long make-work projects,and lack of regional planning is at the core of the TTC's problems. No doubt Toronto will continue to bitch but as they do other cities in Canada continue with their mass/rapid transit expansion and Toronto creates new plans with pretty new map and pretty coloured lines on them.
Yes, I know what Queen's Park is and I know a lot about Ontario and Toronto. I was borm and raised in London and went to school in Ottawa and Toronto. I spent the first 25 years of my life in Ontario and go back to Lon/Tor every year.
If you do not believe TTC boundaries or tranference over to Metrolinx is possible or even wanted fine but why the hell does Miss and Bram have different systems? It is lunacy for there to have more than one transit authority for each Regional Municipality. If memory serves there are 10 different transit system outside the TTC & GO when there should only be 4...Peel, York, Halton, and Durham. That is one thing that York Region got right.
As far as blaming Queen's Park and Ottawa there is some validity in that but no more of a burden than other Ontario cities have to live under and same for everyother city in the country when it comes to funds from Ottawa.
As far as blaming Ford, again some validity but Miller didn't help. He completely ignored the DRL and TC's price take soared 50% within 18 months of it being announced. His LRT or nothing mentality did also not acknowwledge the reality that some areas needed total grade separation like Eglinton or using BRT along Hydro corridors. Ford may have cancelled Sheppard but where the hell is the TTC on extending DM to Consumer thru a tunnel? Miller's plan included a tunnel thru that stretch as well so why isn't it being built right now. Why did Miller insist on tunnels on the Spadina ext when the only area that needed tunneling was the relatively small section under York. Why the Taj Majal like stations in a city that can't afford it............that was MIller's doing not Ford's.
It was Miller that turned a potential city wide rapid transit LRT network into an improved local service system but putting stations every 2 to 3 blocks. It was Miller who created a totally disjointed TC system where one was going to have to transfer onto another LRT eventhough one would be going the same direction on the same road ala Eglinton/Kingston LRTs. Why didn't Miller put his foot down in the first place and state categorically that the ARL would use EMUs instead of diesel..........he could have played hardball and used obstruction against Metrolinx.
As far as Miller and Ford, neither one has even considered actually paying for ANY of the TTC lines themselves. No other city on this planet expects senior levels of government to pay for 100% of their transit infrastructure costs but Toronto does. Kitchener, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton are all contributing a good chunk of their own funds and hence are getting rapid transit expansion but even the idea of that in Toronto is heresy. Toronto thru the new City of Toronto Act actually have more rerenue power than anyother jurisdiction in Ontario but the idea of paying their fair share is still out of the question whether.
How can Toronto bitch at Ottawa when Ottawa offered $300 million for TC which is exactly $300 million more than Toronto has? This made worse by the fact that they haven't used any of it yet while it could be using it right now to build the DM to Consumers tunnel?
Ford maybe an idiot but Miller flately refused to put his money where his TC mouth was. According to Miller Toronto desperatly need TC { and only his version} but apparently not enough to cough up on dime to help pay for it.
Toronto's refusal to pay for any of it own infrastructure, poor planning, political ineptitudes at City Hall, bureaucratic inertia, enviornmental assesments that have turned into 3 year long make-work projects,and lack of regional planning is at the core of the TTC's problems. No doubt Toronto will continue to bitch but as they do other cities in Canada continue with their mass/rapid transit expansion and Toronto creates new plans with pretty new map and pretty coloured lines on them.
