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How to get the 905 to love road tolls

March 25th, 2010
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Milton commuters: would you be more inclined to pay road tolls if the funds went toward improvements to GO Transit rather than the TTC?

Milton commuters: would you be more inclined to pay road tolls if the funds went toward improvements to GO Transit rather than the TTC?

Jim Tovey’s article today in the Toronto Star’s Your City My City section had an interesting take on the concept of toll roads in Toronto.

I’ve always had a hunch that highways such as the Gardiner Expressway and 401 would ultimately end up as toll roads — at least for those in Toronto’s suburbs, better known as “the 905.” With so much traffic on Toronto’s highways coming from commuters not contributing taxes towards Canada’s largest city, it makes sense for the City of Toronto to want to try to claim a proverbial ‘pound of flesh’ from those who reside outside the fair city but are more than happy to make a living there.

We all know how supposedly underfunded the TTC is, and it’s always been assumed the funds from such tolls would go straight to the City of Toronto’s own transit system. I’m sure they do need the funding, but what do you think the odds are of the TTC expanding into the 905 anytime soon?

The answer: don’t hold your breath.

Mr. Tovey makes the case that it would be much easier for Toronto’s suburbanite commuters to accept road tolls if the proceeds went to Metrolinx, in an effort to make improvements (and maybe reduce costs, right Mr. Salmons?) to GO Transit — the other option for traveling into the city for 905 commuters.

What do you think? If the 401 and Gardiner were toll roads, would you continue driving into Toronto on those roads, would you start taking GO Transit if you aren’t already (assuming that’s a viable option) and does it matter into which coffers the toll road profits end up?

Here is Mr. Tovey’s post:

Would those of us in the 905 ante up $5 for the privilege of sitting on the Gardiner Expressway two hours a day? Particularly if the five bucks was going to expand the Toronto subway system? The short answer, if the poll was strictly 905, is absolutely not!

If the question was slightly different the answer may be the reverse.

I avoid driving into Toronto. The last time I was forced into daily trips for work was five winters ago while restoring a house in Rosedale. Toronto is not particularly truck friendly, parking is restricted and the Green Hornets seem to stake out residential construction sites.

The trip, from home in south east Mississauga was 1 to 1 ½ hours each way, gas was about $120 a week, parking tickets $25 to $50 weekly. Any fiscally responsible contractor has to build this cost into the contract, so in this situation the extra $10 daily would be born by a Toronto resident.

Therefore, if the funding from tolls goes to the Toronto Transit Commission, that’s fine. Personally, I chose to work closer to home. Most people who make this daily pilgrimage do not have the luxury of a choice.

As chair of the Legacy Foundation, I often go to Toronto for meetings and I always take the GO train.

Herein lies the problem for a 905er with the funding going to subway expansions.

The Long Branch GO station is a mile and a half from my house at Cawthra and Lakeshore. The GO parking lot is continually full and street parking is impossible, which leaves Mississauga Transit the only option.

Here is how the trip plays out. I dutifully wait for Mississauga Transit, until I get bored, which takes five minutes, and then I walk east towards Long Branch. The Mississauga Transit bus usually passes me when I am within 200 metres of the GO station. Clearly an improved subway system in Toronto is not going to alleviate the challenge of getting people in the 905 out of cars and into transit. Toll fees directed to that end will not engender buy-in from anyone outside of Toronto.

From a 905 perspective, if the funding were going to Metrolinx to harmonize public transportation on a regional basis, I believe there would be wide support for tolls.

Transit in the GTA has traditionally taken a fortress mentality, there have been pitched battles in the past over the use of bus stops, and municipal schedules rarely connect. The problem is not so much public transit in Toronto; the problem for us is getting to it. Metrolinx was established to solve this dilemma and they have an expansive plan, “The Big Move”, to resolve this disparity.

Use the toll money for regionally improved, frequent service and I might occasionally take the car downtown just so I can contribute my $5.

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Posted in Environment, GO Transit, GTA, Milton Development, Toronto, Traffic, Transit, Transportation

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Derry Road underpass update

November 19th, 2009

From MiltonSearch.com:

Earlier this week, Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best posted an update on the Hawthorne Villager forums on the possible acceleration of a project critical those living in the new Milton developments west of the hospital.

That particular area of the town has and continues to grow and expand rapidly. Trains on the north-south CN railway tracks just west of Milton District Hospital frequently stop traffic in both directions along Derry Road, not only simply inconveniencing residents, but also delaying emergency response services to that new development — ambulances and fire trucks being the obvious ones.

Thanks to the response of Milton residents, Colin’s request to accelerate the underpass project was included in the 2010 budget presentation. Hawthorne Village Escarpment resident Zeeshan Hamid should also be commended for his efforts. Hamid posted a petition on his personal website to assist in bringing awareness to this issue in an attempt to accelerate the project and 273 residents sent emails through his site to the town.

Both Colin and Zeeshan should be commended for their efforts on this critical issue to thousands of new Milton residents.

From Colin Best:

Just wanted to let everyone know that thanks to the hundreds of emails sent by Milton residents and hawthornevillager members, my request to accelerate this project has been included in the 2010 budget presentation which was presented today to bring forward the engineering and design work to be tender ready from 2014 to 2010 at a cost of $ 2.4 million with the construction work which takes about 18 months to complete from 2016 to 2012 at a cost of $ 20.6 million.

Regional council will be considering all the budget submissions and recommendations over the next three weeks and have final approval at the Regional Council on Wednesday Decemeber 16th.

You can see the details of the staff recommendations at www.halton.ca and in Friday’s Champion.

Council also today finalized some of the details of the engineering work for the widening of Tremaine Road to Main St. W. to start that process in early 2010 and the completion of the widening of Derry road from Bronte to Tremaine Road and the detour around the CN line within the next few months to allow the underpass construction to start.

Chair Carr and the public works staff have been working closely with the Town and I to bring this project forward due to the growth of the Harrison and Scott neighbourhoods and increased traffic along Derry road.

The Town will be announcing its staff recommendations next week and I will be posting more information on both budgets in the near future.

Colin Best
Local & Regional councillor
Member of the Halton Budget Review Committee
www.colinbest.ca

From Zeeshan Hamid:

Thanks Colin!

273 people sent e-mails via my website. Wow, I did not expect more than a few dozen hits honestly.

@csb101 – design etc. in 2010. Construction in 2012. One caveat is that 2010 budget is what’s coming up for approval in 3 weeks … 2012 is technically still at the mercy of the next council.

I will take the petition down from my website when the budget is approved (Dec 16th).This petition was a huge motivation behind setting up the site (my blog was initially hosted at blogspot). The site will feel so empty without it.

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Posted in Halton, Hawthorne Village, Milton Development, Milton: The Good, Politics, Traffic, Transportation

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GO Transit gets $500M boost

February 21st, 2009

The question now is to see what this means for Milton, where extensive improvements have already been made to the GO Station over the past few years. Expanded train service on weekends? We encourage GO Transit riders to leave suggestions in our comments section below.

From The Toronto Star

Milton GO Transit Station

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says such investments "give us a more competitive economy in the longer term."

In a bid to get the ailing economy back on the rails, Ottawa and Queen’s Park are boosting investment in GO Transit.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty today announced that up to $500 million will be spent to improve a dozen GO station parking lots and upgrading rail lines to increase service reliabiliity.

The funding will be divided equally between the provincial and federal governments.

Harper and McGuinty made a theatrical arrival at the GO yards in Mimico aboard a locomotive to disclose the news.

“This investment will create jobs for local construction workers in communities throughout Southern Ontario,” said Harper.

McGuinty said such investments “give us a more competitive economy in the longer term.”

“When transit is more convenient, more people leave their car at home. That means a better quality of life for our families and a cleaner, stronger and more beautiful province,” the premier said.

Today’s funding is a part of the previously announced $3.09 billion Ontario will receive from Ottawa’s Building Canada program.

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Posted in Commuting, GO Transit, GTA, Milton Development, Politics, Toronto, Transit, Transportation

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Eales fed-up, gives up bid to repair GO

January 16th, 2009

From the Toronto Star:

Pat Eales, who rallied 11,000 angry GO riders to sign a petition last winter, quit her job and has given up on commuting.

Pat Eales, who rallied 11,000 angry GO riders to sign a petition last winter, quit her job and has given up on commuting.

The woman who rallied 11,000 angry GO commuters to sign a petition last winter has quit the customer service advisory committee inspired by her efforts.

Saying she couldn’t handle another winter of long, frustrating commutes on the GO train, Pat Eales found a new job about 15 minutes from her Oakville home – ironically overlooking the GO station.

On days like Wednesday, when thousands of commuters were left in the deep freeze because of train delays, Eales says she thanks her lucky stars she no longer suffers the commute to downtown Toronto.

She started an online GO petition after being late for work repeatedly last winter. It demanded a freeze on fare hikes and a 50 per cent refund on fares when trains are delayed 20 minutes or more.

The petition tapped enormous customer outrage – 11,000 disgruntled commuters signed on – but wasn’t enough to persuade GO to cancel a 15-cent-a-ride fare hike. GO also argued that since it relies heavily on fares, a late-train refund would have come out of commuters’ pockets anyway.

GO did, however, set up a committee of seven train riders and one bus passenger to advise the board and staff on how to improve service.

Eales quit after the first committee meeting, in September, when she found her new job – something she says probably would have happened anyway.

At that meeting, Eales said members were given a free lunch, a return fare to GO’s downtown office and a model double-decker bus. But most members of the committee – composed of riders from each of GO’s lines and a student – remain anonymous.

“After all I did and the things I wanted to accomplish, I didn’t feel that was the venue for it,” she said.

“How are we supposed to be a liaison between (GO Transit) and the GO transit riders if no one knows who we are and no one knows we even exist?” asked Eales, who said she was required to sign a confidentiality agreement when she joined the committee.

“GO assembled these representatives to be a confidential sounding board for their policies and plans,” said GO spokesperson Vanessa Thomas. “It’s not so much that they are anonymous, but their role is specific and related to providing advice to GO.”

Committee members were solicited on the GO website and, so far, have focused on learning about the GO system. They did support the move to put defibrillators on trains.

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Posted in Commuting, GO Transit, GTA, Transit, Transportation

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Is the Thompson Road nightmare almost over?

October 9th, 2008

After enduring years of pain and agony in the form of Thompson Road between Derry and Main Streets – can if finally be almost over?? 

That’s the way it looks according to Town/Regional Councillor Colin Best who posted this information on the Hawthorne Villager forum:

“I’m just as unhappy as you are with the rate of construction on the Main to Derry Road section of Thompson Road. I drive on Thompson road almost everyday and have been after staff to get the contractor to finish the work as soon as possible.”

“I understand that the top coat of pavement is being poured starting Wednesday (weather permiting) and should take four days to complete the paving on both sides of road with the final road markings and traffic lights operational later next week. The official opening is scheduled for October 23rd at the Thompson Road arena and will have more details when they become available.”

Wow.

I still need to actually see this to believe it, however. The road was actually scheduled to have been completed by the end of September, but my drive along that stretch sure didn’t get any faster on October 1st as construction, lane closure flip-flops, gridlock and road rage continued to be the norm through that stretch of road, for most hours of the day.

Along with all of the benefits that Milton’s growth has provided us long-time residents, the ongoing road work and poor town planning has been far more frustrating. No stretch of road other than maybe Derry Road east of town highlights said disastrous planning more. 

This dysfunctional key artery through town connecting new Milton with both old Milton and the 401 has caused residents of most areas of town huge grief for a long, long time – to the point where it has become not even an option now for most drivers, instead opting to take Ontario St. or the newly opened James Snow Parkway extension to Main St.

So, we shall see if this does indeed get wrapped up in the coming days/weeks. And, if so, where is Milton’s next traffic-catastrophe-in-waiting?

I don’t know if the town is planning any kind of ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the brand new 4-lane Thompson Road.

Nevertheless, I’ll be celebrating.

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Posted in Milton Development, Milton: The Ugly, Politics, Transportation

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Have you taken Milton Transit?

October 9th, 2008

Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

Did the Town of Milton suffer from the “chicken and the egg” syndrome?  Did they spend millions of dollars unnecessarily to get brand new buses that could fit more people BEFORE the people actually take the bus?

Mike Cluett says that while we will need a transit system in town, it has to be economically viable.

Mike Cluett says that while we will need a transit system in town, it has to be economically viable.

As I’ve stated in the past, I do beleive Milton needs a transit system for its increasing population.  There has to be a way for someone to get downtown Milton from lets say Hawthorne Village for the Farmers Market on Saturday instead of getting in the car, trying in vain to get up Thompson Road, turn left at Main and head on down.  We all know the downtown area isnt meant for lots of vehicle traffic and the bus would be the preferred way.

Only problem is that no one is taking advantage of it.  Recent Milton Transit reports show that the only time ridership on the buses increases is when there are FREE TRANSIT days, sponsored usually by corporate citizens like Mattamy Homes, Fieldgate etc. and go back down to almost non existant levels when Miltonians have to pay.  While we will need a transit system in town, it has to be economically viable.  We cant just keep throwing money at the issue and hope someone will take the bus.  We cant have a program if no one is using it.  The town can throw money around and try to educate people that taking the bus is the better way.

Continue reading on Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

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Posted in Environment, Mike Cluett, Milton Development, Milton: The Bad, Politics, Transit, Transportation

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Squeeze every drop of gas from your tank

July 19th, 2008

maximize gas mileage

Some of the following “hypermiling” tips may seem a bit over-the-top, but hey, with gas at $1.30+/litre, every little bit counts, right?

Maximize your gas mileage by “hypermiling”

Hypermiling tips: How to hypermile, according to expert Wayne Gerdes:

Maintenance

• Inflate your tires to the recommended maximum.
• If it’s not already equipped, install a fuel-consumption display gauge in your car.
• Switch to synthetic oil.
• Remove excess weight from your car and roof racks when possible.
• Change your air filter annually.

Basic driving habits

• Don’t let your car warm up in winter – new technologies have made it unnecessary.
• Avoid heavy braking.
• Avoid quick acceleration.
• Always drive the speed limit, or just below.
• Always drive in the right lane.
• Turn off your car’s air conditioner, or use it sparingly.
• Plan your route to avoid congestion, hills and left turns.
• Avoid idling.

Advanced driving techniques

• Drive without braking: Imagine that your brakes are limited or degraded. This means driving slower, creating buffers between your car and the vehicle in front of you, and looking far ahead to predict traffic flow.
• Drive with load: Instead of using cruise control when driving in hilly territory, keep your foot locked in the same position on the gas pedal. Allow your speed to drop as you climb a hill and rise when you go downhill.
• Drive with buffers: To drastically improve fuel efficiency in congested traffic, leave three car lengths between you and the car in front. As traffic speeds up and slows down, the buffer allows you to avoid braking and fast acceleration.

Parking tips

• Park in back corners to avoid braking for pedestrian traffic near entrances.
• Park in the highest spot of a parking lot to take advantage of gravity – coast to a stop, and roll downhill to get started.
• In double rows, roll through the first spot to park facing outward.

What do you think, Milton? With soaring gas prices and assuming a large percentage of Miltonians drive into Toronto every day (I’m basing that on the huge increase of traffic along Hwy. 401 through Milton), do you see yourself employing any of these techniques?

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Posted in Commuting, Environment, GTA, Technology, Transportation

Heat wave slows Milton GO Trains

July 19th, 2008

go train milton to toronto

Those familiar with taking the GO Train into Toronto from Milton are well aware of all of the trials and tribulations involved. Those of you thinking about or who have recently moved to Milton and plan to commute into the city via the GO Trains might be interested in this recent article on why you can just throw that handy, dandy train schedule out the window when the temperatures heat up…

From Tess Kalinowski, Transportation Reporter at the Toronto Star:

GO Transit is warning of 15- to 30-minute delays on the Milton line in light of today’s extremely hot weather.

But based on last summer’s experience, which saw delays usually in the two- to three-minute range, those delays could be much shorter, said GO spokesperson Jessica Kosmack this afternoon.

The Milton line is owned by Canadian Pacific, which slows its trains to 64 kilometres per hour (40 miles per hour) once the temperature hits 32 degrees C, she said.

That allows the engineer and conductor in the locomotive to see if a kink has developed in the rail ahead due to heat expansion, explained CP spokesperson Mike Lovecchio.

CN also slows its passenger and freight trains once the temperature hits 30 degrees C but the delays in the Toronto-area tend to be insignificant, said company spokesperson Mark Hallman.

In many cases, because of the number of stops on the GO lines, the trains wouldn’t normally exceed the hot weather speed limit of 105 kilometres per hour. ( 65 miles per hour)

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Posted in Commuting, Environment, GTA, Milton: The Bad, Toronto, Transit, Transportation

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