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rfmcdonaldThe Globe and Mail's Oliver Moore reported on incumbent mayor Rob Ford's
blogTO called it a "fantasy", on account of Ford's complete lack of explanation as to how this would be financed. Torontoist was more nuanced but still skeptical, additionally mentioning a couple of lies he told. I myself would suggest that many of the subway lines are being built in relatively low-density areas that couldn't necessarily economically support a subway line. The Sheppard line in North York is a good pointer as to how subways on the geographic fringes of Toronto would fare.
I'm in agreement with top-rated Torontoist commenter Mr Universe: "The most important question about Rob Ford: Is he incredibly stupid or just a chronic liar? Most likely a little of both. Every time he makes a statement, its riddled with inconsistencies, vagueries and outright falsehoods."
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford promised 32 kilometres of underground transit, seemingly without a cost to residents, as he rolled out a key plank in his transportation plan Wednesday.
The mayor is betting big on subways while dismissing light rail as “fancy streetcars” that make congestion worse. His $9-billion proposal, which has no specific funding plan, would see new subways on Finch and Sheppard, as well as a downtown relief line and a promise to bury the eastern portion of the Eglinton Crosstown.
It was unclear how much, if any of this building would happen in first term. Mr. Ford did not answer the question directly.
[. . .]
Lacking were many basic details and Mr. Ford left the event with numerous questions unanswered. It’s not clear why two of his projects have price tags lower than is commonly known, how the subways will be built for less per kilometre than the extension currently going up to York and why the province would choose to reallocate money it has pledged to the Finch and Sheppard LRTs.
Instead, Mr. Ford offered a denunciation of his opponents for supporting light rail. He said it would be a “two-tier” system for Scarborough not to have underground transit, as the denser parts of the city have. And he suggested it was simply logical to keep building subways.
“You bore, bore, bore until the cows come home,” he said. “I have funding options in place and this is not, not, putting the onus on the taxpayers. This is not implementing revenue tolls or taxes.”
The Ford plan makes no mention of ways Toronto residents might pay their share of such a large expansion of underground transit. Instead, funding for the $9-billion plan appears to rely on assistance from other levels of government and some combination of options that could include public-private partnerships, sale of assets and air rights over stations and tax increment financing. The last of these, which involves borrowing against the development transit might spur, is controversial, with critics saying citizens are on the hook if revenues fall short.
blogTO called it a "fantasy", on account of Ford's complete lack of explanation as to how this would be financed. Torontoist was more nuanced but still skeptical, additionally mentioning a couple of lies he told. I myself would suggest that many of the subway lines are being built in relatively low-density areas that couldn't necessarily economically support a subway line. The Sheppard line in North York is a good pointer as to how subways on the geographic fringes of Toronto would fare.
I'm in agreement with top-rated Torontoist commenter Mr Universe: "The most important question about Rob Ford: Is he incredibly stupid or just a chronic liar? Most likely a little of both. Every time he makes a statement, its riddled with inconsistencies, vagueries and outright falsehoods."
