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Tuesday’s headlines

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TRANSPORTATION
• Toronto’s monument to indecision [ National Post ]
• ‘Road pricing’ our way out of congestion [ Globe & Mail ]
• Health concerns could derail high-speed transit link to Pearson
airport [ National Post ]
• Bike rack design leads pack [ Toronto Star ]

OTHER NEWS
• It’s time to hit pause on city’s visual pollution [ Globe & Mail ]
• Patchwork of recycle rules triggers separation anxiety [ Toronto Star ]
• Architects draft blueprint for hard times [ Globe & Mail ]
• New trucks to pick up hazardous materials, electronics from high-
rises [ Globe & Mail ]
• Car culture behind plan to pave park in Oshawa [ Toronto Star ]
• Health official to study fumes along airport link [ Globe & Mail ]
• 2 Toronto parks get a lot of green [ Toronto Sun ]

8 comments

  1. Metrolinx you ho this is all your fault.

    Until the last few months Weston Community Coalition was a bunch of whiners led by a failed NDP candidate. Now they have control of the media cycle, at least for the present.

    Metrolinx’s bullying, hamfisted approach has now blown the Strachan redo wide open (although how Joe Front Street Extension gets to criticise ramming a transportation route through anywhere is beyond me) – I had read the City’s report previously and found it to be a far more detailed and reasoned work than Metrolinx’s so-called consultation documents.

    Metrolinx’s new ward GO Transit is riling people up in the Junction and has not the wit to delay the consultations for the North Toronto-Bradford diamond until after the banging of piledrivers had died down (I didn’t appreciate that the piles were steel – the Star has a video which shows a truly shocking noise)

    The elevations for the airport approach make the GTAA rollercoaster look like a tame ride with severe changes in elevation between Georgetown line and Terminal 1.

    Now the Medical Officer of Health is involved – how long before the people buying condos at Maple Leaf Square wonder how much fumes THE ENTIRE FREAKIN GO AND VIA NETWORK gives off? How long before the level of brake dust on subway platforms comes under the MOH’s microscope?

  2. Retrolinx deserves all the blame it is getting. They had’nt even heard of Railpath! And how about GO’s public consultation this Wednesday about more pile driving in the Junction Triangle that they forget to let the public know about?

    People are saying if we are building new capacity or dramatically increase traffic then we should choose the greenest solution, not the cheapest solution. This is about future expansion.

    All the Sitting Liberal MPs have messages about being Green on their websites. Too bad its all BS.

  3. It’s easy to blame Metrolinx, but the Weston Coalition has been around since Blue 22 became a certified disaster in the making. The year was 2003. Ernie Eves was Premier.

  4. Its the Liberal Government of Ontario that actually should take the blame and yes Retrolinx did not start the process, the have just perpetuated it.

  5. Province has been an active proponent of Blue22…but let’s not forget that Mayor Miller has shilled (is shilling) for this as well.

    What bothers me most about this plan (which will be publicly funded in part) is that its pricing is a strong deterrent to the vast majority of potential users. In its current form, this plan will not end up taking many cars off the road. With more modest pricing stops along the way, this line could make a huge difference to one of the worst areas for transit in this city, the north-east corner. Virtually every other city that has an airport-downtown link charges a MUCH more modest fee than what is being proposed by Blue22.

    As for the Western Community Coalition being “just a bunch of whiners”, it doesn’t surprise me that many people have chosen to see them that way just because Blue22 is being pushed as a “green” initiative. That “green” label is a mighty handy camoflauge for pushing through some pretty questionable projects.

    Was going to make a snarky comment regarding public consultation and scottd, but I think I will hold my tongue.

  6. The G&M’s article on road pricing is very simplistic. It assumes that since gas was expensive last year and people drove less, that creating road tolls will mean people will drive less as well. It ignores the psychological impact that we are used to paying for gas, but not for roads specifically. Therefore a large gas price increase will affect our decision making less than even a modest toll.

    It also claims that if we tolled highways, congestion would simply disappear even with little to no transit improvements. This is also false. One because of the point mentioned above, and two because we would simply displace traffic somewhere else – probably city streets that cannot handle the excess volume. When the 407 first opened to the public, it was free while they got the electronic tolls setup and congestion on the 401 was at an all time low. Once the 407 began to charge, things reverted back to the way they were.

    I’m not saying tolls are a bad idea. One area where it could work, and to the success that the article claims, is Allen Road south of the 401, or even just south of Lawrence. Doing this could help reduce the excess of traffic in Eglinton West Village to a more controllable level as incoming traffic is moved to arterial avenues where it can reach its destination in a more controlled manner. But simply slapping a toll on the 400 series highways and hoping for congestion to simply disappear is naive at best.