LeDrew, two?
In the week since Rocco Rossi joined the mayoral race as a potential spoiler, there’s been much speculation about whether he represents something more substantive than Stephen LeDrew, another former Liberal Party bagman who made a spectacle of himself in the 2006 race.
After Rossi’s kick-off, one right-of-centre councilor came away unpersuaded that he’s different than the other backroomers — LeDrew, Tom Long, John Tory — who believed they could make the transition from handler to handled.
I’m prepared to reserve judgment…but not for long. On the weekend, I spoke with Rossi about transit and came away with the impression of someone who’s got a lot of homework to do. After all, an ostensibly serious candidate shouldn’t be learning the issues on the campaign trail, much less in office.
Asked about his views on Transit City, Rossi demurred, saying he needs to further inform himself of the city’s plans.
He talked in general terms about the need to integrate the TTC’s plans with those of Metrolinx, and ranted about David Miller’s bid to get Ottawa to pay for the new streetcars using stimulus funds. (The City and infrastructure minister John Baird managed to work out a solution.)
TTC expansion, he added, “should be done with the regional perspective in mind.” Asked if he would rule out re-visiting the Transit City strategy, Rossi replied: “I don’t rule out anything until I’ve seen the whole picture.”
Which is this: In July, the Province informed the City that Metrolinx will “invest in and retain ownership and control” of the new LRT lines (Finch West, Eglinton, and Sheppard, as well as the reconstructed Scarborough RT). View a PDF of the letter
Then, last month, Metrolinx said it was considering private sector partners to construct the projects with an eye to completing them in time for the Pan Am Games.
Given his promise to privatize Toronto Hydro, I’m guessing Rossi won’t be averse to such schemes. Nor, I’d predict, will a Liberal insider, albeit aligned to the national scene, use an election campaign to crap all over the McGuinty government’s Big Move strategy for transit expansion in Greater Toronto. (Leave that task to John Tory.)
That said, there is a link between Rossi’s Hydro pledge and the city’s transit plans. The 2010 capital budget [PDF] — which includes $301 million for Transit City as well as funds for new subways and streetcars — will use a $600 million Hydro promissory note to reduce debt charges for the next decade by $61 to $92 million per year — equal to an annual property tax hike of about 4%.
A Hydro sale would force council to re-design the city’s long-term capital budget, so there could be implications for transit spending, depending on how the proceeds are used.
It’s interesting to note that Rossi, as Tory’s 2003 campaign manager, must have had some familiarity with transit issues, if only because Miller talked at length about transit during the mayoral debates.
But seven years on, the transit file is almost unrecognizable: Both the Feds and the Province now have big money in the game; Metrolinx, which didn’t exist in 2003, is a major player; and Transit City — then merely a glimmer in the eye of transit advocate (and Spacing columnist) Steve Munro — is embedded in the province’s regional transit plan.
With the formal campaign start date less than two weeks away, Rossi has about ten minutes to get himself up to speed and then pronounce on whether this elaborately constructed consensus meets his smell test. Indeed, Rossi’s eventual stance on Transit City — and I hope it comes soon — will show whether he’s for real or merely this year’s version of the hack who serves up the comic relief.
photo by Himy Syed
30 comments
Thanks John – seems like yet another hack (Rossi) craving for some face time at the expense of the electorate. Go back to Facebook.
“The City and infrastructure minister John Baird managed to work out a solution.”
That’s a generous interpretation of the city admitting it got its application wrong and being allowed to resubmit for a grab-bag of whatever projects it could find.
So why is Transit City the only thing that matters for public transit? What about fare integration, regional rail, subways? Why is, all of a sudden, light rail – which is unproven here in Toronto unless you want to discuss St Clair, the only thing that matters?
Transit City isn’t the only piece that matters, but 1) It lies wholy within the city of Toronto, so the mayor’s role is more important than in regional transit.
2) It is a key piece of city building, not just people moving.
3) Now started, the last thing we need is someone making major changes or threatening to pull the plug.
We need a mayor who will ensure TC gets built, and built right. And also starts the planning for fare integration, the downtown relief line, and other projects, so they are ready to break ground later in the decade when Transit City is winding down.
Well, for a mayoral candidate to have no knowledge (or not enough knowledge to comment) regarding Transit City makes my decision that much easier. Rocco Rossi won’t get my vote. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with Transit City or not; anyone hoping to be mayor of this city should have an in-depth knowledge of Transit City and any alternatives right from the start. To say that he needs to further inform himeself of the city’s plans shows just how disconnected he is. Miller had his faults, but I’m already starting to miss him…
In response to Walter’s comment, John did not state that “Transit City is the only thing that matters for public transit”. I agree there are many other matters (some of which Walter has listed) that are very important for public transit. But with billions of dollars currently earmarked for Transit City and shovels already in the ground, it is incredible to me that any majorial candidate would not have a decent knowledge of Transit City!
On a side note, does anyone know where the TTC stands on the Downtown Relief Line. I’ve been trying to get some information about this for some time but alas, haven’t found anything. For someone who lives in the downtown core, this seems like a vital piece missing in the Transit City plan. Cheers!
Transit City needs some modifications. Fully grade separated transit on Eglinton for its whole length and completion of the Sheppard line should be recognized as important. And where’s the DRL?
George Smitherman doesn’t really know much about these core Toronto issues. Whenever asked he says that he’s learning about them.
Isn’t this demurring merely posturing? I mean, nobody wants to be the first to take a position on an issue? Seems in today’s politics it’s easier to respond to someone’s position rather than take your own unique stand. That being said, if Rossi doesn’t support Transit City as a concept then I think he’s dead in the water anyway.
On a day when the Yonge line goes into yet another juicy state of fail over its busiest length (Union-Bloor) the imperative for the Downtown Relief Line and improved service on GO Richmond Hill is all too apparent.
But what’s more important is that today our civic representatives are announcing the digging up of Sheppard East to put in an LRT which will be kludged into Don Mills Station (somehow) rather than extending the subway one stop over to a properly designed terminus or converting the Sheppard to LRT from end to end.
Even the bit of Transit City that is partially geared to downtown (the Bremner streetcar component of the Western Waterfront LRT) is being pushed off to 2029 – to quote Steve Munro “I am not kidding”.
@John Paul – George Smitherman didn’t know we needed new downtown streetcars and that if we did, it was one of “too many” priorities.
i wonder if all the downtown residents clamouring for the DRL would finally lay off if they realized its object was not actually to serve the downtown core. buy a bike and let the suburbs have their rapid transit pls.
torbuffchester> the DRL would actually help a lot of suburbanites get to and from work easier.
The DRL is supposed to be studied sometime next year. Mr. Giambrone said so much in an online chat at the Toronto Star about a month ago. It’s too bad the Air Rail Link federal money couldn’t have been used for this — a DRL from the Airport to Union and up to Don Mills subway. Everyone says subways are too expensive, but if you ran them above ground on rail lands or through the Don Valley you could save the digging costs.
torbuffchester, so your suggestion is that all downtowners should stay downtown all the time, and not go anywhere on rainy or snowy days. Which is exactly the kind of forward thinking that got us downtowners nothing in Transit City.
Jason Bomers: I honestly would prefer to see DRL fully underground. After all, one good dump of snow and Warden TTC shuts down, plus the SRT, because their third rails are compromised. More to the point, I would rather spend the same money getting multiple light and heavy rail routes into/near YYZ than spend billions trying to accommodate airport traffic and 5 minute headway commuting on the same system.
Why is everyone in such a hurry to get all the answers NOW? The candidates have just barely made their announcements. Surely, their platforms and related knowledge (or lack thereof) will come out in the near term, at which time we can THEN begin the critiques.
Sorry for ranting, but virtually everything I read online these days on this Mayoral campaign smells so cynical…
>the DRL would actually help a lot of suburbanites get to and from work easier.Which is exactly the kind of forward thinking that got us downtowners nothing in Transit City.<
“you downtowners” have the university line, the southern third of the yonge line, and the bloor line between broadview and dufferin. all of these are underground and work fine even in inclement weather.
and sorry, yeah, the DRL WOULD actually help a lot of suburbanites get to and from work faster–IF it was built into the suburbs. most of the enthusiasm i’ve seen for the DRL stops at the word “downtown.” case in point
http://metronauts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/n638250545_1103386_96291.jpg
Let’s see – before going into politics George Smitherman ran a camera store. Rossi went to grad school at Princeton, was VP of 2 major corporations (The Star and Labatts) before he hit 40 and ran Heart & Stroke. I think he can take it all in, even if he only has 10 minutes. Sorry..someone had to say something positive.
WOW – politics is tough! What an education John on transit issues – quite an article ;)!
Leslie,
Not cynical. The candidates are auditioning to serve as the chief executive officer of a corporation with tens of thousands of employees and an $8.7 billion operating budget (larger than seven provinces). While I am not suggesting that mayoral candidates need to be sitting municipal politicians in order to qualify for the job (outsiders bring some much needed perspective), I do think it’s reasonable to expect that those who aspire to hold the office have a strong grasp of the many and complex public policy issues affecting the city.
torbuffchester, the DRL has nothing to do with making downtown residents happy, and everything to do with relieving the Yonge-bloor subways which are dangerously overcrowded.
It’s not a matter of “want to have” more of “we need it before people start getting hurt!”
@Nicole
“On a side note, does anyone know where the TTC stands on the Downtown Relief Line. I’ve been trying to get some information about this for some time but alas, haven’t found anything. For someone who lives in the downtown core, this seems like a vital piece missing in the Transit City plan.”
The TTC will launch a $5M study of the DRL, as mentioned, hopefully to start next year. And hopefully they won’t skew the study to say we don’t need it. The DRL is a much better spend of billions, with many new stations and alternate routes, than expanding the Yonge Line to automatic train control, which will cause massive and costly upgrades of most tiny stations from Bloor south to handle the extra passengers.
At the point someone says “I want to be Mayor”, the idea that they are just learning about the job stops. They need to have some concrete knowledge of city issues and how their role as Mayor would improve on whatever is happening today.
I don’t want to hijack this thread into a DRL/TC debate, but a few things need clarification.
First, TC was never intended to serve downtown. It was deliberately designed as a largely surface network to improve transit in the suburbs. Saying that it ignored downtown as if this were a slight against city folk misses the point.
We can debate implementation specifics of TC at length (and have done so on my site among others). The issue for a candidate is to know what it is and how it might be changed productively. Just saying “don’t build it” takes little intelligence and no leadership.
As for the DRL, the TTC has a faction dedicated to building subways into York Region, and who see any move for alternatives as a threat to their project. Also, the DRL is too-often mentioned as a south-of-Bloor/Danforth project when its real benefit comes from extending it north at least to Eglinton where it would (eventually) meet the Eglinton LRT.
TTC and Metrolinx are finally looking at this route, but it’s unsure which configuration(s) they are studying. Also, the funding for this study was cut from the TTC’s capital budget at some point, and I don’t know whether it has been restored yet.
I used to be Metro Transportation Manager, responsible for such gems as the Allen Expressway, and the proposed Spadina and Crosstown Expressways.
But now I’ve seen the light – highways in the city don’t work!
I now wholeheartedly flipflop and support Transit City LRT lines and the DRL.
Merry Holidays!!
That’s funny Sam Cass – I don’t think you’re the real Sam Cass though. I’m sure he didn’t flip-flop (didn’t I see an op ed of his a year or two ago….)
John,
I hope that you do the same for economic issues.
Of course “Transit City the Project” was about the burbs rather than downtown. That’s the only reason the Feds and Province are interested and why Metrolinx are grabbing it – they are the only 416 seats even vaguely in play with the exception of Trinity Spadina.
We need a holistic plan – a true “Transit City” plan for Toronto – urb AND burb, including TC, TC Bus Plan, the Waterfront/Don Lands light rail and DRL.
If TC is going to be funnelling people along Finch and Sheppard and Eglinton and down from the 407 into the subway system, shouldn’t there be a plan for what happens next?
The hard questions should wait until the other candidates are in the race.
Saying that, I suspect we’re indeed seeing LeDrew part two.
Mark Dowling: Well said!