Metrolinx’s public process for the Regional Transportation Plan is quickly coming to life. An agenda has been posted for their Friday Board meeting containing the following items:
- An Investment strategy report designed to determine financing schemes for transit projects in general – including the suggestion of such means as sales taxes, road tolls, congestion charges, and user fees. While there’s little discussion of the pros and cons of each approach at this point (that will come), it’s refreshing to see the attitude creativity will be needed to pay for all of this. Regular readers are very aware of the unwillingness of Council to pay for transit improvements in Durham Region out of property taxes – and yet we cannot continue with slow steps forward and backwards if Durham is to successfully handle the coming growth.
- Work towards an Alternative Financing and Procurement Plan for several projects, including electrification of GO’s Lakeshore line, conversion of the Scarborough RT to new technology and extension to Markham Road and possibly into York and Durham Regions, Transit City (with the Eglinton and Sheppard East lines stated as being candidates for extension into Durham, although neither is current in Toronto’s official TC planning). Sadly, Durham Region is only participating in the GO portion of the planning, with no involvement in the Transit City and RT portions even though these lines are specifically mentioned as being possible extensions to Durham Region. I have no idea why this is the case – but Durham staff should immediately request to begin working with Metrolinx on these teams. York and Peel regions are involved, and Durham’s participation is equally necessary.
- A draft version of a green paper discussing Active Transportation , dealing with pedestrian and cycling as a part of an overall strategy to transportation. Interestingly, Durham comes out a bit ahead of other suburban regions in several surveys included within the paper – but clearly much remains to be done. Many, including myself, live in places where there is no feasible way to walk to a convenience store.
- A draft version of a green paper discussing Mobility Hubs, major interchange points. This is a lengthy and important paper, and I need to digest it before commenting in detail – but it’s clearly critical that hubs need to be attractive, useful places, located close to where people are. Durham’s GO stations are potentially well placed to serve as mobility hubs, but the physical design and layout leaves a lot to be desired.
The two green papers will be released in final form on February 6, and at that point they will be available for public comment via Metrolinx’s consultation site. I’ll have more detail when that happens – but for now I encourage readers to look at the papers themselves, and to post Durham-specific comments here. I’ll be responding on Metrolinx’s site, and will forward along any reader ideas that seem appropriate.
In any case, PLEASE read these papers and participate. We need better transit, and Metrolinx is our only realistic chance of getting a truly integrated transportation plan.
Filed under: Metrolinx
