It seems I don’t often have cause to say I agree with Toronto Mayor David Miller. He’s pushing the province for sustainable public transit funding now and this time I think he’s right.
The Premier recognizes the need but is facing an record shortfall for Ontario. We need a long-term transit funding commitment.
Meanwhile, it looks like property taxes are going up, using fees will be appearing in some areas, and some services are going to be cut. I’m OK with paying my share of taxes, but I like to be sure my money is being well spent, and I haven’t been feeling the love on that for some time. This is a municipal election year for us, so we’ll have plenty of opportunity to discuss the issues.
I’m usually satisfied with how my local tax money is spent. That’s something folks on my side of the aisle usually say, but in the case of my smallish city I think it is so.
What kind of transportation are we talking about here? Light Rail? Commuter trains from the suburbs? Trolley/Street Cars?
We currently have a mixed system that has buses, trolley cars (we call them street cars), a newer system of street cars we call Light Rail (LRT) and a subway system. The Mayor is pushing more LRT’s with dedicated lanes. No doubt we need more and better transit on some key arteries. There seems to be little support for new subways because of the cost. The whole system isn’t well funded, largely because of a decision made some years ago by a provincial level government to stop pouring money into the system.
As I am shortly to be officially self employed I will, of course, as a good citizen, declare everything I earn to ensure I pay the maximum amount of tax I can pay.
See. I can lie with a straight face…;-)