Gridlock won’t fix itself
Last week the Pembina Institute released the first of several important reports: Who’s on track for rapid transit? An interim analysis of GTHA transit investment and expansion plans from Ontario’s major political parties. The report demonstrates that despite the pressing need for transportation improvements across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), neither the Liberals, nor the NDP, nor the Progressive Conservatives has outlined specifically how they would fund new transit initiatives.
For those of us concerned about greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, for those concerned about the economic competitiveness of our region, and for people fed up with commute times worse than those in Los Angeles which erode our personal and family time, the transportation infrastructure deficit is a very serious issue.
The transit problem is also striking a chord with healthcare leaders concerned with growing rates of obesity and inactivity-related health problems that have become an increasing cost burden on the provincial healthcare system. Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has made her position clear: “We know the proven, positive impact that public transit and active transportation have on the general health and well being of the public, and we support strong and decisive leadership to properly fund the much needed transit and active transportation infrastructure in the region.”
The traffic problems we face are getting worse, and those problems are not going to fix themselves. Improving transportation infrastructure and services won’t be cheap: as the cost will be $2 billion annually according to The Big Move Investment Strategy developed by Metrolinx, the Province’s transportation agency. We can’t avoid the reality that funding transit will require new revenue streams – big ones like a 1% increase to the HST which would generate $1.3 billion annually or a 5 cent per litre levy on diesel and gasoline which would generate $330 million annually.
On the heels of Pembina’s assessment, the Liberal government decreased rather than increased clarity about their funding plans for The Big Move, indicating that, contrary to the advice they received from both Metrolinx and a Liberal-appointed advisory panel, they would not increase gas tax, HST or personal income taxes to fund transit. Yet they are still promising “dedicated, ongoing guaranteed funding” for transit in the upcoming budget. Many of us are scratching our heads about where that funding will be coming from.
The big question about The Big Move remains: is it realistic to say we are committed to meaningful transportation improvements if we are not prepared to pay the bill?
