{"id":1548,"date":"2007-02-20T16:11:47","date_gmt":"2007-02-20T20:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=1548"},"modified":"2007-02-20T16:11:47","modified_gmt":"2007-02-20T20:11:47","slug":"is-toronto-coming-around-on-road-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2007\/02\/20\/is-toronto-coming-around-on-road-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Toronto coming around on road pricing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

It was exciting to read today<\/a> that Mayor Miller is sending councillor Brian Ashton to London to study congestion charges. If you remember back in the election, Miller seemed to back off his stance on road tolls, while our election columnist John Lorinc was all over the idea of road tolls\/pricing (read his columns on the topic here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>). I think Miller made some valid points on the campaign trail: while it makes sense to implement road pricing, Toronto doesn’t offer the transit service options that allow people to get out of their cars and easily transition into public transit. London, on the other hand, has an extensive network of subways that make a congestion charge easily for people to adjust to. But that can be refuted somewhat, too: I spent time in Stockholm, Sweden this summer where a congestion toll was introduced on a six-month trial basis. It was widely unpopular when unveiled, but when it was put to a referendum in September 2006 the tolls won out by 55% to 44%. Stockholm has a population about half the size of Toronto and a subway system that’s not nearly as extensive.<\/p>\n

Councillors Gord Perks and Adam Vaughan have offered up other ideas instead of road tolls. Perks has mentioned charging drivers a fee when they renew their licenses based on the amount of kilometres their vehicle has been driven since the last renewal process (I picture a spate of Ferris Bueller-type senarios where folks are trying to reverse their odometre). Vaughan suggested charging extra fees for larger vehicles that use the street parking permits: if you have an SUV your permit costs more than, say, a Honda Civic or a Toyota Prius.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on this?<\/p>\n

From today’s Toronto Star<\/a>:<\/p>\n

One of Mayor David Miller’s key political appointees will be in London, England next week to learn more about the city’s controversial congestion tax.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miller has distanced himself from talk of a similar tax here, but Councillor Brian Ashton, Miller’s pick to head council’s planning and transportation committee and one of council’s picks for the Greater Toronto Transit Authority, says Toronto has to keep its options open.<\/p>\n

“We have to get more juice out of the transportation lemon in Toronto,” Ashton told the Star. <\/em>“London’s taken some comprehensive approaches. They’re often heralded as the one major city that’s introduced congestion taxes.” Ashton said he’s to be briefed on the congestion tax by London’s deputy mayor.<\/p>\n

“I want to learn about the congestion tax. Why was the public accepting of it? What was the level of congestion that triggered the need for that type of tax? We think we have congestion here but maybe we haven’t reached that level yet.”<\/p>\n

Environmentalist David Suzuki last week raised the issue of a congestion tax in a meeting with Miller and city councillors, while GTTA chair Rob MacIsaac has made similar comments.<\/p>\n

“London has a congestion pricing system that is reporting great success,” MacIsaac told a transportation panel last month. “You want to bring your car downtown, you pay for the privilege. Will we be discussing that? Absolutely. We’d be foolish not to look at it.”<\/p>\n

Ashton said yesterday the GTTA wouldn’t be doing its job if it didn’t look at congestion taxes, road tolls and other so-called road-pricing measures.<\/p>\n

“Even automobile drivers know that there’s a crisis coming,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was exciting to read today that Mayor Miller is sending councillor Brian Ashton to London to study congestion charges. 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