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OneCity: TTC chair to propose new transit plan, and tax hike

Posted By: Justine Lewkowicz · 6/27/2012 6:35:00 AM

TTC chair Karen Stintz has a new transit expansion plan called OneCity, and to pay for it she is proposing increasing taxes.

The councillor will officially announce the $30-billion plan at city hall Wednesday morning. It could come in front of council as early as October.

The plan includes expansions of subways and LRTs across Toronto, with stops added to the Sheppard line west to Downsview, a downtown relief line from Eglinton to Queen, an LRT to the zoo and Malvern Town Centre, a Yonge subway extension to Steeles, a Bloor-Danforth subway extention from Kennedy to Scarborough Town Centre and up to Sheppard to replace the Scarborough RT.

The plan would require on average a $45-increase in taxes each year for four years for property owners, business and residential. It would be a tax added to property taxes and dedicated to transit.

Even before seeing the OneCity plan in detail, councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong is criticizing the idea.

"It's a big tax increase," Minnan-Wong says. "This is going to have an impact on a lot of seniors, a lot of young families and it's going to make it more expensive to live in the City of Toronto."

"There are certain councillors that want to keep taxes down and are fighting for working families across this city, and there are others that want to increase taxes," Minnan-Wong says. "I put myself in the former category."

Minnan-Wong says the TTC has a significant amount of waste, "And before they come looking for new money they should look within their organization."

The 30-year plan would ask the province and Ottawa to each cover a third of the costs.

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  1. LuminolBlue posted on 06/26/2012 10:27 PM
    Finally. A city councillor with a bit of common sense. I'm talking about Councillor Minnan-Wong. Although, in retrospect, Stintz's idea isn't all that bad. I'm a TTC user and use the system for my everyday commute, I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to see the money go towards upgrades to the TTC.

    On the other hand, however, there is a lot of waste at the TTC, so Minnan-Wong is right when he says that the money to pay for this OneCity plan has to come primarily from the TTC.
    1. Richard Collins posted on 06/27/2012 08:29 AM
      @LuminolBlue An ideal situation would be for the TTC staff to take a pay cut instead of an increase that they don't deserve, and for that money plus the money from the tax hike to all go towards improving the infrastructure and safety of the TTC.
  2. James Ellis posted on 06/26/2012 10:33 PM
    $45 per year isn't all that much money - even for a senior.

    I would whole heartedly support this sort of tax increase. If the above mentioned plan brought subways to Scarborough, the increase in the value of my property would be far greater than $45 per year.

    Transit costs money. Gridlock wastes money to the tune of 6 billion per year according to the Toronto Chamber of Commerce.

    Let's stop wasting money and help our city prosper.
    1. Will posted on 06/27/2012 08:07 AM
      @James Ellis it's not $45/year, that's only for the first year. it's $180/year on top of regular property tax increases. Would you say that might make things a little tough for the poor and for seniors?
  3. Keith M posted on 06/26/2012 10:48 PM
    I agree with the plan in general, however I do think that the TTC itself has fundamental issues. Not only are its staff overpaid, but I think how it has been managed in the past has to be re-examined. There also needs to be improvements made in other areas of its operations, including the outdated transfer/payment system that allows people to abuse the system. Finally, I think frankly an improved payment system, which like many major world cities means pay for the distance you travel, should be implemented. It is unrealistic and unfair to charge someone the same fare to travel downtown from Scarborough than to travel two subway stops.
  4. kacey posted on 06/27/2012 07:26 AM
    We need transit but we also need to get the TTC straightened out. Lots of managers, middle managers, supervisors, supervisors to supervise supervisors. The free ride for these guys should be over so our money can go towards what this city needs - transit. Stintz needs to address the problems in the TTC first. All politicians fail to address the "real" issues, and the TTC is a mess. It has been for years, and someone with the balls to do something has to take charge. That person is not Karen unfortunately as she has never addressed the biggest problem in the organization.
  5. al posted on 06/27/2012 07:53 AM
    If it means not removing the LRT on Eglinton and Sheppard they're planning on building with the $8 billion then I'll be a good plan. Otherwise they'll be wasting $ and commuter time
  6. John posted on 06/27/2012 08:59 AM
    This plan wants to hit homeowners with increased property taxes for the next 30 or so years - are transit fares going to increase as well? Why does it still cost a maximum of only $3.00 to travel the length and breadth of the city? The same old line of "transit riders already pay the most of the costs of transit" just doesn't cut it any more. Maybe they do pay the most for transit costs but it's *still* only $3.00 per ride. Increase transit fares (and/or bring in zone fares) at the same rate as property taxes - that not only would be most fair but also bring in huge amounts of money for the TTC - they did just announce a $22 Million surplus due to record ridership, didn't they?
  7. proton posted on 06/27/2012 09:19 AM
    TTC board decisions last few years have been disastrous and there is gross mismanagement. Stintz and board can't be trusted with such a big undertaking.

    TTC is like the TDSB.

    Remember they claimed they couldn't do eglinton subway because there wasn't enough money, now they suddenly have a plan and aren't afraid to raise taxes. They obviously weren't being honest with us.

    Additionally, TTC itself is full of waste. When you hear stories of maintenance workers being threatened for putting in a full day's work vs go slow, why should we agree to pay more taxes to help feed these inefficiencies?

    Get the TTC house in order, hire professional management (city councillors aren't capable of directing a lemonade stand efficiently let alone the TTC), THEN come back with a plan and a request for increased taxes, if necessary.
  8. tagaj posted on 06/27/2012 10:57 AM
    Just heard the news release "one city" nonsense; tax more, pay more etc. BS terms about tax increases for 30 years and what have they done in the last 30?

    Truth is, so long as autos are cheaper to operate (they are now) and roads remain heavily subsidized by taxes the "value proposition" of transit will fail.

    Solution:
    1) make ontario the first right-to-work zone in Canada. Forced union (mafia) membership is against the constitution anyway.
    2) modify the taxation such that all road maintenance and construction comes only from fuel taxes and tolls. Use tolls only where a redundant free route of similar distance/time to travel exists.
    3) make the public transit a for-profit venture, and sell it off especially the TTC. Let them collect fares to cover their costs.

    Right now, it costs more to travel by transit, be that a few blocks or 100Km. Until that changes all of this is utter nonsense.
  9. Sean posted on 06/27/2012 11:34 AM
    Screw Karen Stintz and her new tax.

    The city staffing level is bloated. There is plenty of tax money that could be reallocated to transit - all socialists like Stintz need to do is what we asked them to do in the last election, cut the size of the city staff and cut spending.

    They have not yet done this. They have the courage to increase taxes, and the courage to spend more money that is not theirs, but no courage to do what the voters demanded in the mandate of the last election.

    Do not come sticking your hands in our pockets for more money when you are wasting the money that we already give you.

    Karen Stinks needs to resign.
  10. SteveB_10 posted on 06/27/2012 11:40 AM
    The argument that the TTC is full of non productive activity is nonsense. Cell phone rates in Canada are double the US, but we still have cell phones, why not wait until the government does something about the oligarchs before getting a phone.

    Gridlock is costing Toronto 6 Billion a year. So over 30 years there is $180 million in profit for this plan VS $30 Billion in costs. Full speed ahead. $180 is less than many drivers spend on a tank of gas. Peak Oil is coming combined with growth, and the only solution is clean transit.

    Singapore built 170 Km of Subway over the last 30 years, and the transit system makes a profit. Hong Kong built less but also makes a profit. Now both of these systems rely on property development to backstop the transit, but there is an example to follow.
  11. Barbara Carmichael posted on 06/27/2012 12:38 PM
    It shouldn't just be property owners who have to pay for the transit system. Renters and people from the 905 use the TTC so the only fair way to do it would be to raise the fare and the money generated from that placed in a separate account dedicated to transit expansion. Karen Stintz has a great idea but must be broader then property taxes.
    1. SteveB_10 posted on 06/27/2012 12:47 PM
      @Barbara Carmichael It is. The Toronto tax payer is only putting in one third, another from the Province and Feds.
    2. John posted on 06/27/2012 06:37 PM
      @Barbara Carmichael When are you going to understand that renters *do* pay property taxes? They pay rent to the landlord (which includes their share of property tax) who then pays that tax to the city. Maybe they are not listed on the tax rolls but it is common knowledge that renters actually pay *more* in property tax than regular property owners.
    show more replies
  12. DaveS_2 posted on 06/27/2012 12:50 PM
    Maybe I'm missing something but aren't these large initiatives supposed to be coming from the man that was elected to propose them? It strikes me that once appointed to her role, Ms Stintz has done an end run around Mr. Ford and is trying to implement her own agenda. Should't she be elected first before trying to take over the city?
    1. SteveB_10 posted on 06/27/2012 01:05 PM
      @DaveS_2 Nature abhors a vacuum.
    2. John posted on 06/27/2012 04:14 PM
      @DaveS_2 Just because Rob Ford is Mayor, does that mean only he can have ideas and put them forth? Karen Stintz *is* chair of the TTC and, as such, should she not be putting ideas out for consideration? This latest plan still has to go before Council and, if it gets the go-ahead and is successful, don't you think Rob Ford as Mayor will get most of the credit for having appointed Karen Stintz in the first place?
    show more replies
  13. ArtC posted on 06/27/2012 07:32 PM
    what was wrong with Rob Fords plan?
    Build it and we'll figure out how to pay for it after.
    bahaha...
  14. ford fan posted on 06/27/2012 10:16 PM
    so, is Stintz going to take her stint hosting for Rob and Doug on Newstalk 1010 this Summer?
  15. proton posted on 06/28/2012 04:09 PM
    read that stinz and co. never even discussed plan with council in general and mayor.
    further proof of her incompetence and the disgusting sneakiness she exhibits along with her left wing colleagues.

    something that important should have been discussed with entire city council.

    this is all about trying to make the mayor look incompetent. all it shows is the petty mindedness of stintz and her lefties.

    all the more reason not to have any faith in this plan.

    all they ever do is tax tax tax. how about actually cleaning house first thereby showing good will and an honest effort to spend taxpayer money wisely and efficiently, then go to taxpayers if you need more.

    i'm sure there'd be less resistance if they ever tried that, but that'd be too logical and ethical for these pathetic councillors
  16. CarolB_7 posted on 07/02/2012 09:10 AM
    It was reported recently that the TTC loses $20 million per year in lost fares. In the first year hat money could fund upgrades to the fare system and pay severance to workers made redundant by modernization. If only 75% was recaptured, that would be an extra $15 million per year, every year for TTC projects.

    Looking at the new plan, there's a section on the Scarborough line linking the subway with LRT. Will that mean passengers need to get off the subway, onto the LRT, then back onto the subway? Why not make that section all subway for a seamless ride.

    Directions in the new plan aren't clear either. If the eastern portion was all subway, trains could run in a circle, along Bloor, up to Sheppard down Yonge. Conceivably this could become a Circle Line which would bypass Yonge and Bloor altogether, thereby relieving congestion there. Other trains could continue to run as they do now.
  17. Miriam posted on 07/04/2012 06:25 AM
    Give back our transit!

    http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/toronto-voters-demand-return-of-transit-city/375
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