G20 Update
TORONTO POLICE SERVICES BOARD ESTABLISHES
INDEPENDENT CIVILIAN REVIEW OF THE OVERSIGHT OF G20 POLICING
The Toronto Police Services Board is establishing an Independent Civilian Review,to identify and study issues raised by the public and Board members regarding oversight, governance, accountability, transparency and the communications and supervision issues arising from a multi-jurisdictional model of policing in the context of the governance role and policies of the Toronto Police Services Board.
“In the week since the G20 Summit, the Board has taken the time to meet, identify issues and concerns and develop a reasoned approach to review the oversight and policy aspects of policing at the G20 Summit,” said Toronto Police Services Board Chair Alok Mukherjee. “We believe that this Independent Civilian Review is the most appropriate way forward and is in keeping with the Board’s history of taking measured and reasoned approaches to key civilian oversight issues.”
Subject to the Terms of Reference developed by the Reviewer, in consultation with the Board, the Reviewer may seek the input of any individuals, agencies, organizations or associations who have information that could assist in the review.
In addition, the Reviewer will review relevant legal authorities, policies and practices as well as decision-making structures and processes with respect to policing in place during the Summit.
Following completion of the Independent Civilian Review, the Reviewer will submit a report to the Board with recommendations related to policy, structural and systemic issues for consideration and any action, as deemed necessary.
Costs of Expanding Transit in Toronto Over the Next Ten Years
Smitherman’s and other mayoral candidates’ support for transit expansion and improved service is great to see. But the numbers are big and we need to have a realistic plan to pay for it all.
Currently the Metrolinx Regional Transit Plan has roughly $8.1B of funding over the next 8-10 years for the GTA. In addition there is $2.6B for the Spadina Subway extension to Vaughan. In Toronto, the Eglinton and Sheppard LRTs are getting funded. Another big project being paid for with this funding is the Union-Pearson Air-Rail Link.
Here is a breakdown of some of the costs pressures facing the TTC over the next ten years.
Operating Costs:
The TTC faces huge operating cost pressures alone over the next ten years. The cost of transit is growing and without significant Provincial or Federal support for operating costs, it’s unclear where this money will come from. The public clearly has little appetite for property tax increases and riders are already paying for 70% of these costs through fares and don’t want to see another fare increase. The TTC is one of the only major transit systems in North America that doesn’t get operating funding support from a provincial or federal government, which results in constant budget pressure every year.
- TTC’s operating costs are currently $1.4B for 2010. This amount will grow by $60-80M per year (See TTC budget documents at ttc.ca)
- For comparison, an additional $60-80M is equivalent to a 2-3% increase in the property tax rates.
- The City subsidy to the TTC is currently $512M, including Wheeltrans.
- Once new lines are built, all these numbers will get even higher as the TTC looks for funding to operate the new lines and carry even more riders.
Basic Capital Costs:
There are also huge pressures just to keep the existing system running. The shortfall for basic state-of-good-repair programs is large and growing.
- The TTC currently spends $800M per year (in 2010 dollars) on state-of-good-repair, which includes things like repairs to stations, tunnels, repairing and replacing vehicles, and so on.
- The state-of-good-repair shortfall (i.e. the amount that exceeds the current budget) is an additional $2B over the next ten years, i.e. an additional $200M per year is needed. Put another way, we need to spend $10-12B (using escalated dollars) over the next ten years just to keep the current system the way it is.
- The Province cancelled the Bus Replacement Program, which will take effect in 2011, and because of the Transit City cuts, the TTC needs another $200M for new buses and a new bus garage. This change in Provincial funding will lead to another budget shortfall.
Building New Lines:
Here again, the costs are enormous. No city in the world does major subway expansion without regional (i.e. provincial/state) or federal help. You simply can’t afford to do it off the property tax base alone. In the past, the province has paid 75% to 100% of the cost of building new lines.
As we’ve seen recently, even when these governments commit to projects, the funding is not stable and can often get cut unexpectedly due to new budget pressures. Over the past century, there are many examples of new lines for Toronto being promised by the provincial or federal governments, only for the funding to be cut later.
It has been suggested that these costs could be covered by private financing and then repaid over an extended period of time, similar to a mortgage. With respect to borrowing significant amounts of money, the City has already reached its debt ceiling and any borrowing would have to meet the City’s debt targets in order to preserve our credit rating and keep the cost of borrowing low. Projects financed through public-private-partnerships still count as debt, as the Province recently learned around the funding of Transit City. Debt targets must include all future obligations, including PPPs. There is no magic funding solution.
Additionally, money from Toronto Hydro and Toronto Parking Authority dividends as well as development fees has already been budgeted for. By diverting these revenue sources to Transit, you are creating a shortfall in other areas of the City’s operating budget that would need to be solved. As for the gas tax, it’s already allocated to funding the TTC state-of-good-repair program—you can’t use this money twice.
Here is a very rough breakdown of the likely costs involved with some of the projects currently proposed:
- Extending the Sheppard subway west to Downsview will cost around $800M to $1B and is expected to carry less than 15k passengers per day.
- For comparison, there are over 12 bus routes in the city that carry this number of people.
- Extending the Bloor Danforth line west to Sherway Gardens would cost around $2.1B. It’s 7 km and the average costs of subway construction is $300M/km in 2010 dollars.
- Replacing the Scarborough RT with a subway would cost around $3B.
- For comparison, replacing the RT with the Scarborough LRT would cost about $1.4B, so a subway would cost roughly double.
- Also, as there would likely be only 3 stations (stations are more spread out on a subway than on an RT or LRT system), many people who are close to an RT station today will need to take a bus to access one of the new subway stations
- Additonally, the TTC and Metrolinx have estimated that:
- Building the Finch West LRT would cost around $1.4B
- Extending the Sheppard LRT to University of Toronto Scarborough campus would cost about an additional $100-150M
- Extending the tunnel for the Eglinton LRT west to Weston would cost around an additional $80-100M
Dundas St. West Watermain Replacement Project & 505 Dundas Streetcar
Toronto Water is replacing the watermain under Dundas St. W. this year. The work will move west from Dovercourt Rd to Lansdowne Ave beginning in April 2010 with expected completion in Fall 2010.
This construction will also affect streetcar service along Dundas St. W. Due to the intense nature of the work, TTC will be unable to run on Dundas St. for the first phase of the project.
505 Dundas streetcars will be required to divert, in both directions, via Ossington Avenue and College Street travelling to and from Dundas West Station.
Stops on Dundas Street West between Lansdowne Avenue and Ossington Avenue will not be served. Frequent bus service is provided on Lansdowne Avenue, Dufferin Street and Ossington Avenue.
The route diversion is scheduled to be in effect until May 2010.
Should you have any questions regarding the water main project, please feel free to call 311. Please contact TTC at 416-393-INFO (4636) with any questions regarding the 505 Dundas streetcar diversion.
West Toronto Collegiate needs your help!
The Toronto District School Board staff has recommended the closure of West Toronto C.I. despite support from the community and school board trustee Maria Rodriguez to keep it open. West Toronto Collegiate is one of the few modern, fully accessible schools in the area and it would be a shame if the community were to lose this great facility. We are seeking community members who want to help keep the school open and invite you to an informal organizing meeting.
Where: 1232 College Street, Constituency Office of Councillor Adam Giambrone
When: Tuesday, March 30 2010 at 6:00 pm
As part of Toronto's Bike Plan, the City has proposed to build new bike lanes on Lansdowne Avenue from Bloor to Davenport. Adopted in 2001, the Toronto Bike Plan calls for the creation of a Bikeway Network throughout the city.
A public open house was held on the evening of March 25th at Wallace Emerson Communty Centre. Following this consultation, the Transportation Department will be submitting the project for consideration at the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting on April 20th, 2010. If you would like to make a written or verbal deputation at this meeting, please contact the Committee Secretary at pwic@toronto.ca.
For more information about this project, please click on the above link, or send your questions or comments to bikeplan@toronto.ca.
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