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  #61  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2012, 12:16 AM
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New TTC trains' performance 'unacceptable,' says CEO

Read More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...-problems.html

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.....

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said the problem is related to a safety feature on the train doors that prevents the train from moving until the doors are closed. "If the doors get held or they’re jammed in some way, then they won’t close and we need to cycle them again," Ross told CBC News.

- "That means we need to reopen them and reclose them. If after the third time of having to do that, then the system needs to be rebooted and that causes us to take the trains out of service.” The report says the new trains are on time 92 per cent of the time; The on-time target is 96 per cent. Ross said Byford will meet with Bombardier officials on Friday for an update on resolving the door problem. “Bombardier is well aware of the issue and we’re working with them to come up with a solution,” said Ross. “With new technology, there are always going to be teething problems."

.....



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  #62  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2012, 8:04 PM
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Updated website: http://www.bigmove.ca/
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  #63  
Old Posted Dec 6, 2012, 4:26 PM
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Calls mount to demolish aging Gardiner Expressway as repair bill tops $505-million

Read More: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12...-into-repairs/

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.....

The city manager unveiled a revamped 10-year capital plan last week that included accelerating and increasing the amount of money spent on rehabilitating the expressway, which has come under intense scrutiny this year as chunks of concrete fall away. The new plan calls on the city to spend $505-million — instead of $170-million — from 2013 to 2022.

- “If we’re not going to bring it down, at least let it pay for itself so that other priorities can be met,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher, who said the Gardiner is the “perfect” road on which to test tolls, because Lake Shore Boulevard would remain free. Her comment inspired Councillor Doug Ford, vice chair of the committee, to modify an idea he has floated before: enlist the private sector to tunnel a toll road under the Gardiner and demolish part of the roadway above. The rubble could go to creating more parkland along the water, he proposed, and drivers could continue to use the street-level roadway for free.

- Councillor Peter Milczyn, a member of the budget committee, said he would be surprised if council voted to restart the EA. He said taking down the roadway is “not realistic.” “Councillor Parker asked for some information, that’s fine, we’ll get some information back,” said Mr. Milczyn. “But I think everybody accepts that when chunks of concrete are falling off the Gardiner you need to stop that from continuing.” Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, chairman of the public works and infrastructure committee, said the $505-million plan “makes sense.” “Cities don’t tear down infrastructure,” he said. “And all the information I’ve seen suggests that it would be far more expensive to tear the Gardiner down than it would be to fix it.”

.....
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  #64  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2012, 6:44 PM
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Eglinton LRT: Laird Drive to Don Valley Parkway Update:


http://www.thecrosstown.ca/sites/def...%20Profile.pdf
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  #65  
Old Posted Dec 14, 2012, 5:57 PM
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Keele Street to Jane Section and Black Creek Maintenance & Storage Facility Environmental Project Report Addendum Online Consultation

Details: http://thecrosstown.ca/Online-Consul...e-Text-Summary

http://thecrosstown.ca/Online-Consul...s-Text-Summary

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.....

The proposed plan/profile includes an off street LRT alignment north of Eglinton Avenue with an underground stop at Mt. Dennis, underground alignment west of Mt. Dennis and a surface stop at Jane Street.

.....


Seems to be getting more and more grade separated with each new revision.
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Old Posted Jan 2, 2013, 11:30 PM
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Decision to bury Eglinton LRT to Don Mills worries area residents

Read More: http://www.globaltoronto.com/decisio...012/story.html

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A recent proposal to bury a portion of the Eglinton crosstown LRT has upset some Flemington Road and Don Mills residents who say it removes planned stops which they desperately need. In December, Metrolinx unveiled a proposal to extend the buried portion of the LRT east to Don Mills Road rather than Brentcliffe Road, as previously planned. The eastern end of the tunnel would be dug in the northern parking lot of the Ontario Science Centre and would proceed west towards Yonge Street.

However the decision to begin tunnel boring at Don Mills Road rather than Brentcliffe Road removes two station-stops from the proposal – Leslie Street and Ferrand Drive – stops which community activists say are badly needed. “Well, if you can look behind you there’s 21,000 residents and close to 20 per cent of them use public transit. This is amongst the most economically challenged communities in the GTA,” said Abdul Madhani, a community activist in Flemington. “We need to service this community. We’ve had a lot of issues with services here... So we feel that we are orphans actually in this community and we need to speak up.” Metrolinx officials say the new proposal to bury the LRT from Yonge Street to Don Mills Road was caused by “property constraints, traffic impacts and soil contamination issues.”

While some residents worry that the decreased number of stations will make it difficult for area residents to reach the LRT, Metrolinx says it has plans to increase bus service along the route to alleviate those concerns. Residents suggest that despite the increased service, development in the area will quickly spur the need for LRT service and stops. Leaside Property Owners Association Vice-President Geoff Kettel, standing along Eglinton Avenue east near Brentcliffe Road, said the area is developing quickly. He pointed out three newly-developed high-rise condominiums and areas that will soon be developed. “We feel this is only a catchment area,” Kettel said. “We feel that the cost implications of this change and the loss of service to the community is very significant.”

Metrolinx said that if an underground station was built at Leslie Street, they would have to incur an $80 million bill for the 15-metre-deep station. The population, Metrolinx officials say, won’t grow enough to justify the multi-million dollar price-tag.

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2012: Toronto’s year of public transit

Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...03/?cmpid=rss1

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From the burly crowd-control crews at the Yonge-Bloor subway station to the floor of city council and even the provincial cabinet table, the hobbled state of Toronto’s transit system transfixed the city’s attention in 2012, dominating the public agenda to an extent not seen for more than a decade.

- Tangible changes, both good and bad, became impossible to ignore: new subway trains, super-packed vehicles, and the disruptive presence of an unprecedented wave of construction projects, from the Union Station platform expansion downtown to the suburban traffic snarls around the construction of the Spadina subway extension and the Air Rail Link.

- “This was the year of public transit for all sorts of reasons,” observed Matthew Siemiatycki, a professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto. “We did hit a moment where people are saying, ‘we need action.’” Indeed, Prof. Siemiatycki predicted the tumultuous events of 2012 will set the stage for a historic debate in 2013 about the future of transit in a region whose residents are weary of being squeezed between gridlock on the streets and crowding on the TTC. “It’s the year when we tackle how we pay for transit.”

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The highway tolls for thee, Toronto

Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...20/?cmpid=rss1

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We might as well start building the toll booths now. They’re inevitable. With the one and only expressway providing access from the west to the centre of Canada’s largest city crumbling before our eyes, expect government to stick its hand deeper in your pocket if you care to drive a car. Don’t expect the provincial and federal taxes on gasoline to provide your roads much longer. Politicians everywhere have fallen in love with toll roads and congestion charges. The Gardiner Expressway “crisis” is the irresistible “opportunity” to further soak motorists. Yes, this time I believe it’s curtains for the rusting, crumbling elevated road.

But, of course, it would be nonsense to simply tear it down and replace it with a four- or six-lane road, traffic lights and all. We have that already under the Gardiner and it’s jammed with traffic and it’s a big, ugly waste of space, just like the roadway above it. As we’re going to have to pay anyway, folks, it’s time to tunnel. Everyone laughs at Boston’s Big Dig as a mismanaged overpriced political boondoggle. Does Montreal come to mind? One hopes that Boston’s corrupt practices could be avoided here but make no mistake, the replacement of an elevated expressway through the heart of the city with an invisible tunnel has transformed the whole stretch of Boston along its attractive harbour. It’s a gigantic improvement.

Then there’s Seattle, which is now tearing down a horrible two-decked concrete expressway that, just like the Gardiner, cuts off the city from its waterfront. In its place will be a tunnel, a toll tunnel. It’s a $2-billion (U.S.), 1.7-mile, 56-foot-wide, deep-bore highway tunnel that will run below downtown Seattle and behind a sea wall holding back Puget Sound. When it’s completed in 2015, it will open up 22 acres of newly accessible downtown waterfront, which is presently occupied by the decaying expressway.

.....
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  #67  
Old Posted Jan 3, 2013, 5:45 AM
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Funny how there weren't any complaints when ford buried it, and the stations got cancelled the first time.
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  #68  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2013, 11:54 PM
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Gardiner takedown study approved by budget committee

Read More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...ssment635.html

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Toronto council's budget committee has voted in favour of restarting a shelved environmental assessment of the possible dismantling of an eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway.

Coun. Mike Del Grande, the chair of the city's budget committee, introduced the motion Tuesday to take up the study into tearing down a stretch of the highway east of Jarvis Street. The original environmental assessment was abandoned in 2011. "How much money do you spend on it without really analyzing or understanding whether it should stay up, should it stay down, should it be repaired, what should be done?" said Del Grande, who personally favours keeping the stretch of expressway intact. "But to do nothing would be criminal."

The study would examine several options for the "takedown" of the Gardiner, a partially-elevated highway that was completed in 1965 and carries up to 200,000 vehicles per weekday. Staff estimate it would be six to nine years before dismantling can commence. The committee voted in favour of the move to study options for the aging expressway amid heightened concerns about its safety and usability. A final vote in council is required before the study can be started.

City staff said as recently as December that the eastern portion of the expressway may not be fit for use within six years if repairs aren't carried out on the road surface. Just keeping it operational in that time would cost at least $30 million to $35 million, not including additional millions for reinforcing the roadway. Moreover, the city has proposed spending an additional $505 million in repairs over the next 10 years to keep the Gardiner in good repair.

.....



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  #69  
Old Posted Jan 9, 2013, 5:40 PM
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Someone sneaked in.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...43407&page=431

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Originally Posted by ZensLens View Post
Finally got to make my pilgrimage to the Deathstar...long live the Darkside !!


Making tracks by ZensLens, on Flickr


Down the rabbit hole by ZensLens, on Flickr


Slabbed by ZensLens, on Flickr


Elevated by ZensLens, on Flickr

Great way to ring in the new year, hope everyone had a good new years eve!

Cheers,
Zen
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  #70  
Old Posted Jan 9, 2013, 10:17 PM
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man, taking down parts of the gardiner and stitching the waterfront back into toronto must make people drool and others freak out. i bet ut has dozens of posts already.
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  #71  
Old Posted Jan 9, 2013, 10:54 PM
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The funny thing is it's the grand avenue that runs beneath it that actually cuts off the waterfront! But that aging eyesore is an issue onto itself since it's unsightly and is in need of expensive maintenance.

A big dig that also buries new mass transit in it would be ideal with a reinvented waterfront to go with it.
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Old Posted Jan 10, 2013, 3:17 AM
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  #73  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2013, 8:51 PM
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The Gardiner in Perspective

http://www.planningalliance.ca/node/533


Quote:
.....

Reviewing the figures from Waterfront Toronto's 2004 study, it would appear that the Gardiner's prominent location and visibility give it a disproportionate place in our collective imagination.

- According to Waterfront Toronto's study, it delivers less than 9% of the people that work in Toronto's downtown - about 28,000 people. This is dwarfed by the number of people that arrive by TTC - 135,000 people - less than the number of people that take local roads - 92,000, and less than the number of people that arrive by GO Transit - 45,000.

- One thing that the 2004 study didn't consider was people that either walk or bike to work. According to the 2006 Census data, 186,305 people live in wards 20, 27 and 28. Of that group, 63,624 people travel to work by means other than cars or transit. Additionally, the recent condo boom has added another 38,288 people since 2006.

.....





The Gardiner Expressway’s giant new repair bill, in context

http://davidtopping.tumblr.com/post/...repair-bill-in

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  #74  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2013, 12:36 AM
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The funny thing is it's the grand avenue that runs beneath it that actually cuts off the waterfront! But that aging eyesore is an issue onto itself since it's unsightly and is in need of expensive maintenance.

A big dig that also buries new mass transit in it would be ideal with a reinvented waterfront to go with it.

I wonder if this could be leverage for additional investment like the DRL- Downtown Relief Line that I hear so much on Toronto Forums. Coupling this with Electrified GO along the Lakeshore would be the type of mitigation relief that region needs.
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  #75  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2013, 2:19 AM
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There is serious talk about a transit tax in toronto right now, that would provide for that. I hope for the part east of Jarvis to be torn down and the rest re-built. $20 billion could be spent MUCH better than burying 6km of highway.
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  #76  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2013, 11:39 PM
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SERVICE/TECHNOLOGY CHOICES FOR SHEPPARD EAST AND SCARBOROUGH RT CORRIDORS

PDF: http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Comm...o_Commissi.pdf

Quote:
It is recommended that the Commission receive this report for information, noting that:

• from a technical and engineering perspective, it is feasible to build either subway or light-rail transit in either of the Sheppard East or Scarborough RT corridors;

• the TTC has formally transferred its authority over decision-making on these corridors to Metrolinx so, from a jurisdictional and financing perspective, it is no longer “feasible” for the Commission to direct a change in the technology to be implemented in these corridors;

• when planning, designing, and building transportation infrastructure, the TTC abides strictly by industry best practices, with the objective of determining how much future travel demand needs to be accommodated, and designing a transportation facility which will have the right capacity to meet that demand in the most cost-effective way possible;

• for the Sheppard Avenue East corridor, both subway and light rail offer distinct advantages but, overall, the corridor would be effectively served by light-rail transit, with greater overall coverage, ample capacity for future growth, and a much-lower cost than a subway. Metrolinx has formally approved funding and implementation of light rail transit in this corridor;

• for the Scarborough RT corridor, both subway and light rail offer distinct advantages, and the corridor could be effectively served by either technology. A subway replacement would offer the benefit of a transfer-free ride through Kennedy Station and a higher speed than light rail. A light rail replacement would offer the benefit of greater geographic coverage and better local walk access for twice as many residents and workers, and would cost less to build. Metrolinx has formally approved funding and implementation of light rail transit in this corridor;

• after almost thirty years of continuous operation, the Scarborough RT’s vehicles have reached the end of their normal lifespan. For a variety of reasons, no major investment has been made in this facility, and the situation is now approaching critical, with the line being required to operate at reduced speed and capacity owing to the deteriorating state of the vehicles. The Commission should avoid another prolonged debate over the future of the Scarborough RT, which might jeopardize Metrolinx’s commitment to fully rehabilitate and expand the deteriorating Scarborough RT.

.....

- While reasonably-reliable future projections can be made for 20 or 30 years out, as rapid transit investments will last 50 years or more, it is always desirable to have flexibility to expand capacity to provide for very long-term growth. However, the immediate costs to provide such long-term capacity can be prohibitive. The challenge is to choose the transit technology which meets the expected demand, while avoiding technologies with high costs that provide far more capacity than will likely ever be needed in any particular corridor.

- Toronto’s current Official Plan de-emphasizes the “centres” concept and, instead, calls for more-dispersed, lower-density development spread out along the city’s major arterial roads, referred to as “Avenues”. At the same time, Toronto’s neighbouring municipalities are now all cities unto themselves, and they have competed fiercely, through taxation and economic incentives, to attract employment. This has resulted in the employment originally envisioned for Toronto’s centres, not materializing. The two centres which were intended to anchor the Sheppard Avenue corridor –North York Centre and Scarborough Centre – today have a total employment of 44,000, compared to the 1980’s projection of almost 160,000 by 2011. So, the travel demand which these centres now generate is much lower than what was expected back when a Sheppard Subway was conceived.

- With stop-spacing of 400-500 metres, light rail would provide convenient local walk access to transit along Sheppard Avenue, compared to a subway with stop-spacing of 1 - 1.5 kilometres. The stop-spacing for light rail transit, coupled with physically-separated right-of-way operation, signal priority, and all-door boarding, means that a light rail line would operate at an average speed of 23 kilometres per hour (including station and terminal times), compared to 31 kilometres per hour for subway, and 13 kilometres per hour for a typical streetcar line.

.....

- As noted earlier, it is projected that, by 2031, if the SRT were converted to light rail, expanded north to Sheppard Avenue, and increased in carrying capacity, the line would carry passenger volumes of approximately 8,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) in the busiest hour of travel. This level of demand could be accommodated by light rail in an exclusive right-of-way, whose capacity can be as high as 16,000 pphpd. If the SRT were replaced by a continuation and extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway north to Sheppard Avenue, it is projected that, by 2031, the line would carry passengers volumes of upwards of 9,500 pphpd in the busiest hour of travel. This level of demand could be accommodated by a fully-underground subway whose capacity can exceed 30,000 pphpd.

.....



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  #77  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2013, 11:48 PM
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Funding the transit system we want today... with 2006’s tax rate

Read More: http://www.thegridto.com/city/politi...006s-tax-rate/

Quote:
For a generation of Torontonians, it’s been the question no one wanted to contemplate: How do we pay for transit? Since the 1990s, we’ve been starving the TTC, forcing it to pay 70-80 per cent of its operating expenses from the fare box (with next to no funding from the provincial or federal governments), and playing a cat-and-mouse game with one-time splurges for new construction that are sometimes scaled back or cancelled.

- Toronto’s chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, recently noted on Twitter that London spends three times as much per capita on transit (from all levels of government) as Toronto does, while New York City twice as much. In his book about international transportation, Straphanger, author Taras Grescoe noted that “the TTC is on its way to becoming a case study in how to quickly squander a hard-won legacy of decent transit.” Finally, however, the time to talk about funding has arrived. On Monday, Keesmaat previewed her upcoming public discussion on the subject, and on Tuesday, Metrolinx launched its public consultation on revenue sources for building new transit.

- As far as taxes go, some economists like “value added” sales taxes such as the HST because they don’t tend to slow down the economy as much as others. Higher income taxes, on the other hand, inspire people to either stop working as much or to avoid paying the taxes through accounting maneuvers. For a whole lot of reasons that Université Laval economist Stephen Gordon often details on his blog Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, value-added taxes don’t do that. Of course, sales taxes are regressive—poor people spend more of their income than rich people do, so they pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes. Gordon has pointed out that the key is to send some of the money directly back to poorer people.

- Former budget chief Shelley Carroll has suggested that a one per cent HST bump would generate about $1 billion across the GTA. By doubling that, we’d be looking at $2 billion in transit revenue for the region. We could return one-third of that directly to poor, working-class, and lower-middle class residents to offset the effects of the added strain on their budgets, and still be left with more than $1.3 billion per year to spend on transit through Metrolinx and the TTC. Spending half of that on new construction and half on operating budgets would be a massive injection of much-needed money that would help the system flourish.

.....



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  #78  
Old Posted Jan 29, 2013, 5:55 PM
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TTC by the kilometre? Distance-based fares could help pay for expanded transit

Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tran...panded-transit

116 Page PDF Report: Financing Roads and Public Transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

Quote:
Should you pay more to ride transit depending on how far you’re travelling? Should you pay less if you ride outside the rush hour? The answer to both questions is “yes,” says an academic report being released Tuesday by the Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario.

- Metrolinx says the region needs to find at least $40 billion to save itself from economically choking on gridlock over the next 25 years, and residents should expect to pay since governments don’t have the money for those investments. A former transportation minister, Wynne is already on the record that the region has to come up with new money to pay for transit expansion, said RCCAO spokesman Andy Manahan. Road tolls and transit taxes, traditionally a “politically toxic” subject, could help a new premier position herself as fiscally responsible, he said.

- Except for GO Transit, Toronto area transit companies haven’t typically set their prices by distance, say the report’s authors, economics professor Harry Kitchen of Trent University and Robin Lindsey, of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. They suggest that flat-fare transit encourages urban sprawl by allowing commuters to live farther from their jobs without paying more to commute. “Flat fares also discourage people from using transit for short trips, and this low demand makes it difficult to justify expanding service to nearby suburbs,” says the report. But it goes onto recommend that transit fares only be restructured in conjunction with other road pricing measures, such as tolling 400-series highways.

- It recommends restructured parking fees so they’re based on occupancy rates, including escalating hourly rates rather than maximum charges. A commercial parking sales tax and a parking levy, whereby a special property tax is applied to non-residential, off-street spaces, could be money-makers. The report also recommends the province look at commercial parking taxes, vehicle taxes and regional fuel or sales taxes. Manahan acknowledged that the construction management groups and unions represented by RCCAO have a vested interest in seeing more transit built. However, he stressed, the report, Financing Roads and Public Transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is objective and independent.

.....








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Old Posted Jan 30, 2013, 2:38 PM
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Stintz will discuss zone-based TTC fares – once Presto pay card in place

Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle7964874/

Quote:
.....

The idea is not new – many cities, including London, have zoned systems – but can be controversial. Advocates say a zone-based system makes heavy users pay up for their service while detractors say the poor are unfairly hit and that distance is a crude way to measure value.

- The Presto pay card isn’t expected to be fully implemented across the TTC until 2016. “Before we would make a decision to go toward zoned fares we would want to see what the impacts are on those who use the system,” she told reporters at City Hall. “But as it becomes more integrated, as we implement Presto, I think then we can begin a discussion about whether or not a zoned fare makes sense.”

- But long-time local transit advocate Steve Munro argued instead that a system allowing unlimited travel within a discrete period is a better solution. It’s an idea that the TTC is testing on St. Clair, where a transfer allows up to two hours of travel in any direction.

- Mr. Munro said the situation is more complicated than is portrayed in the professors’ report. He noted that distance travelled is only one way to measure value to riders. People who wait in the snow for the Queen streetcar and then can’t get a seat might argue that they are paying more than the service is worth. People whose homes have access to a subway line, meanwhile, get a better deal for their token than those who have to take surface transportation.

.....
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Old Posted Feb 6, 2013, 10:07 PM
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The SkyWalk could come crashing to the ground

Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/02/t...to_the_ground/

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Union Station's arching SkyWalk, that most photogenic of Toronto's urban landmarks, could be on the chopping block if the city's preservation board adopts a report recommending its demolition at next week's meeting.

- Revised construction plans for the downtown terminus of Metrolinx's Union-Pearson Express (formerly the Air-Rail Link) call for the removal of a large part of the curved glass arcade parallel to Station Street by summer at the latest. A small remaining section closer to to Simcoe Street will later be gobbled up by the podium for a separate office tower project.

- If the station is built to the new, revised plan the route itself from Union to the ballpark and convention centre, which forms part of the PATH network, will be retained inside a new, square-roofed structure. The bridge crossing the railway tracks will be unaffected. According to digital designs released with the report, Station Street, named for its former location in front of Old Union Station, will be closed off at one end and turned into an pedestrian plaza when the tower project begins.

- Though the city says in a report it would have preferred to keep the existing arcade, it cites "construction scheduling and programmatic requirements" as the reason for the design shift, suggesting pressures of Metrolinx's pledge to complete the project in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games are at play. Allison Meistrich, a city of Toronto planner, insists that's not the case. "It is our understanding that the ARL station fit better (fewer grade changes, etc.) in a reconstructed SkyWalk connection. The ARL is to be running in time for the Pan Am Games and those timing issues will affect the project phasing, construction, etc., but is not a factor in the design change regarding the SkyWalk."

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