  Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 868 Registered: 09-2005 |
That is right: $17.5 Billion (that's over $16 billion USD). This will include suburban subway lines, 100 miles of light rail in Toronto alone, and electrified commuter rail. Toronto and Detroit used to be rival cities. There are many reasons why Detroit has declined while Toronto has thrived, but commitment to public transit is definitely one of them. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Ca nada/2007/06/15/4263644-cp.htm l Ont. unveils $17.5B transit expansion for T.O., Hamilton By MICHAEL OLIVEIRA MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (CP) - Commuters in southern Ontario are being wooed by a 12-year, $17.5-billion Liberal promise to extend Toronto's subway, expand GO Transit service and install two rapid transit lines across Hamilton. Premier Dalton McGuinty unveiled details of the MoveOntario 2020 plan at a news conference Friday in this city west of Toronto, saying the massive transit plan would benefit the environment and economy, and shorten commute times. The provincial government would cover two-thirds of the cost of the plan and wants Ottawa to chip in the rest - about $5.8 billion - although it has received no commitment for the funding. Still, McGuinty said he wasn't worried about the province getting stuck with the whole bill, and said the federal contribution would be consistent with spending on other infrastructure projects like the Pacific Gateway in British Columbia and the Manitoba Floodway. "I can't believe for an instant that the federal government would not seize this opportunity," McGuinty said. "If you take a look at he wealth we generate here, that benefits the entire country. ... I'm convinced they're going to want to come to the table and ensure that they make sure that this particular economic engine is firing on all cylinders." McGuinty admitted that the total price tag for the ambitious plan will likely be in the $30-billion dollar range once interest and other costs are factored in. But he said the expense is worth it, and he relishes the chance to do something big for the region. "Every once in a while you have an opportunity to do something bold, that speaks to the long-term," McGuinty said, adding that his government's plans are similar in scope to the construction of Toronto's first subway line about 50 years ago, which was also Canada's first. "I thank God that somebody had the foresight to take that on. It was expensive, it was bold, it took a while to put it together, but now we're going to do the same thing for our children and our grandchildren." Toronto's Yonge Street subway line would be extended about eight kilometres to Highway 7, to go along with a previously announced extension of the Spadina subway line into York Region. GO Transit's busy Lakeshore line would be electrified, increasing train speeds and shaving the travel time between Hamilton and Toronto by 15 minutes. Capacity would also be increased on all of GO's lines. Hamilton would also get two rapid transit lines crossing the city, and the funding would support Toronto's previously announced plans to build 120 kilometres of light rail. The province would also expand express bus service across Highway 407. The 52 projects are scheduled to be built over 12 years and paid off over 50 years, without any road tolls contributing to the financing. All the construction work would create more than 175,000 direct jobs and would spur the economy by reducing the $2.2 billion that's lost annually to lost productivity due to congestion, McGuinty said. And getting more people on public transit will go a long way toward reducing harmful emissions and helping the environment, he added. "By building 902 kilometres of new rapid transit, we'll remove 300 million car trips off the road, and that's great news for the air we breathe and the fight against climate change." But the entire plan presumably depends on a favourable outcome for Ontario's Liberal government in the upcoming October election. | ||
Yelloweyes Member Username: Yelloweyes Post Number: 146 Registered: 02-2007 |
Maybe I'm missing something but this doesn't have anything to do with Detroit. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 631 Registered: 10-2003 |
Umm, where's the part about "Detroit to get commuter rail"? | ||
Mbr Member Username: Mbr Post Number: 204 Registered: 03-2005 |
Is Canada going to fund mass transit for Detroit? | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 869 Registered: 09-2005 |
Fine. We have discussed to death that Detroit is likely to get a commuter rail line from AA to Midtown. I was attempting to point out that while Michigan slowly (very slowly) moves forward, just four hours down the road, governments are pumping over $16 billion USD into transit expansion. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 870 Registered: 09-2005 |
Should Metro Detroit get serious about transit funding, the government of Ontario should have the money to connect Windsor to Detroit using some form of rapid transit (cross border commuter rail? ferry service integrated into Windsor's transit system and Detroit's transit system). Let's face it, Detroit needs to receive increased transit investment if it is ever going to increase density, quality of life and private sector investment. If and when this happens, it looks like the Ontario government should have the money to spend to make sure Windsor's system connects with Detroit's. In theory, this could mean Ontario spending money IN Detroit where Transit Windsor will operate. | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9485 Registered: 10-2003 |
That's because T.O. is the center of the universe. All the sprawl they have needs to be connected somehow. So how's that second border crossing coming along again? It shows where the gov'ts priorities are concerned. T.O. and their ass kissing cousins (the 'burbs) can piss off. I'm tired of my tax dollars going to those whores. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 871 Registered: 09-2005 |
Its funny, the province has $200 million earmarked for Ottawa transit projects. That seems like peanuts now. Of course, now that $3 billion tunnel proposal (for a new bridge to Detroit) does not seem so crazy (of course Windsor-Essex only has 3 ridings, compared to all those voters in Hamilton-Toronto-York Region, so who knows...). | ||
Erikto Member Username: Erikto Post Number: 556 Registered: 11-2003 |
Laughing @ Goat, live, from the centRE of the universe... all built on the backs of Windsorites... just kidding, actually, Toronto sends far more tax money 'upstairs' to Queen's Park and Ottawa than the city receives. Maybe the 'whore' that is Toronto as you see it, is indeed tired of feeling, ahem, pimped... That said, I also was surprised to see this thread in the Detroit-issues section. |
