Think back to
2003. Has your commute changed much since then? Is the travel time
fairly predictable, or must you leave earlier to allow for
unexpected delays? Does it take longer to get around, or about the
same? Are conditions aboard transit vehicles more crowded, or have
you found alternative routes that are reasonably comfortable?
Since the last
Ontario election, transportation has become a hot topic as well as a
worry for many in the GTA -- especially citizens of the 905 belt
around Toronto. Leading up to the October 10 vote, In Transit will
focus on the priorities and promises that could shape our future
mobility.
Four years ago,
the Progressive Conservatives had barely begun to redirect money to
transit after entirely abandoning provincial responsibility, instead
downloading the costs to municipalities. Under premiers Mike Harris
and Ernie Eves, the GTA transit and highway network stagnated, with
little expansion and no attempt to contain urban sprawl. The trend
away from funding new transportation infrastructure had already
started under previous NDP and Liberal governments, but the Tories
had so little time or money for transit during their tenure that our
existing capacity crunch rests heavily on their shoulders.
Have the
Liberals done enough to reverse the trend? Has the PC party under
leader John Tory changed? Overall transport expenditures --
especially for transit -- have climbed steadily during premier
Dalton McGuinty’s time at Queen’s Park, culminating in the massive
MoveOntario 2020 proposal unveiled this June.
For their part,
the Conservatives seem to have come a long way since the Harris era
-- their current leader knows and talks a lot about transit and
promises to direct all gas tax to transportation. The PCs also say
they support Liberal efforts to contain development around the GTA
and in the Greenbelt.
Howard
Hampton’s NDP point out, as do other critics, that Ontario’s
anti-sprawl legislation is too weak to make any real difference for
at least a decade and car use will skyrocket as transit-unfriendly
housing tracts leapfrog the Greenbelt. The NDP and Green Party are
much more inclined toward transit investment, insisting the province
must be aggressive in order to stay ahead of creeping gridlock,
lengthening rush hours and bad air.
The seriousness
of the issue is reflected in a rare multi-party consensus that
transit has to be the priority -- even the traditionally pro-road
Tories are calling for substantial expansion of our bus and rail
network. But do any of them have sufficient will, or voter support,
to address the problems of one of North America’s most congested
regions? Please join me over the next few weeks for an examination
of all four parties, and decide whether your commute will improve,
deteriorate or hold steady.