I can understand the initial hesitation to more and more fees. If you’ve ever tried getting out from Front Street at 5pm on a weekday you’d wish for something like that.
Thing is that everyone inside and outside cars effectively subsidize the externalities of traffic. Everyone’s wasted time, wasted gas money, health effects of breathing car emissions, noise, so on and so forth. Don’t forget that every car on the road is being subsidized by taxpayers from road maintenance, gas tax subsidies, parking facilities in the suburbs, service delivery and upkeep to the far suburbs, so on and so forth.
I agree that Toronto’s network is not quite as good as New York to really justify such a toll at this very moment but within 10 years I think it will be, and if it shows early signs of success then I think many cities around both Canada and the US will be quick to adopt it.
I understand and agree w ur statements abt torknto traffic - I go uoft and frequently have to commute dt.
But the truth is adding more tax will just line the pocket of useless beaurucrats. I doubt the money will be spent efficiently, as governments are known to be extremely tardy.
But the alternatives are garbage. The subway system is overloaded and there’s been no investment for almost 25 years. The go train network is nice for 15 years ago, but not so much now. And even current investment is a prime example of beaurucratic inefficiency
More tax will also just lower the standard of living. Toronto is already expensive, and making it more expensive to “fix” the problem thay THEY created is like going back to an abusive husband, promising to be a better wife.
I can understand the initial hesitation to more and more fees. If you’ve ever tried getting out from Front Street at 5pm on a weekday you’d wish for something like that.
Thing is that everyone inside and outside cars effectively subsidize the externalities of traffic. Everyone’s wasted time, wasted gas money, health effects of breathing car emissions, noise, so on and so forth. Don’t forget that every car on the road is being subsidized by taxpayers from road maintenance, gas tax subsidies, parking facilities in the suburbs, service delivery and upkeep to the far suburbs, so on and so forth.
I agree that Toronto’s network is not quite as good as New York to really justify such a toll at this very moment but within 10 years I think it will be, and if it shows early signs of success then I think many cities around both Canada and the US will be quick to adopt it.
I understand and agree w ur statements abt torknto traffic - I go uoft and frequently have to commute dt.
But the truth is adding more tax will just line the pocket of useless beaurucrats. I doubt the money will be spent efficiently, as governments are known to be extremely tardy.
But the alternatives are garbage. The subway system is overloaded and there’s been no investment for almost 25 years. The go train network is nice for 15 years ago, but not so much now. And even current investment is a prime example of beaurucratic inefficiency
More tax will also just lower the standard of living. Toronto is already expensive, and making it more expensive to “fix” the problem thay THEY created is like going back to an abusive husband, promising to be a better wife.