Transit City
Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced on 16 March 2007 by then-Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Adam Giambrone. The plan called for the construction of seven new light rail lines along the streets of seven priority transit corridors, which would have eventually been integrated with existing rapid transit, streetcar, and bus routes. Other transit improvements outlined in the plan included upgrading and extending the Scarborough RT line, implementing new bus rapid transit lines, and improving frequency and  timing of 21 key bus routes. The plan integrated public transportation objectives outlined in the City of Toronto Official Plan, the TTC Ridership Growth Strategy and Miller's 2006 election platform. Since the official announcement of the plan, preliminary engineering work and environmental impact assessments were done for the construction of the light rail lines. Public meetings were held to generate community discussion. The plan was initially reported to be funded by both municipal and provincial levels of government. However, the Government of Ontario postponed a portion of its capital funding to Transit City, which met with much public and  political controversy, resulting in changes to construction plans and delayed start dates. Construction of one of the lines began in December 2009. On 1 December 2010, Mayor Rob Ford took office saying that the first job of the new transit commission, to be appointed on 8 December, would be to "stop spending money on a project we don't need anymore". Ford campaigned on a platform proposing expansion of the subway system, instead of implementing light rail lines. Ford acknowledged that he would need council's support to put an end to Transit City. In early 2012, Toronto City Council  voted in favour of motions to resume work on the Sheppard, Eglinton and Finch LRT lines and replace the Scarborough RT, defeating Rob Ford's campaign for subways. The master agreement for these lines was signed on 28 November 2012. While these projects were originally proposed under Transit City, they are now part of Metrolinx's implementation of The Big Move regional transportation plan. Projects. The plan proposed of tram or electric light rail along seven routes. The proposed network would carry 175 million riders a year, of which 75 million would be new Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) users. The  seven proposed corridors were divided into two project priority phases: current and planned. In May 2009, Metrolinx CEO Robert Prichard announced that after further study, the proposed project was being scaled down, with shortened routes or deferrals to fit within the dedicated provincial funding for Transit City, not factoring in the province's March 2010 announcement that it was deferring $4 billion in funding. The TTC was prepared to fund the entire cost of the network over a longer period of time. The highest priority was assigned to the Sheppard East, Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Etobicoke–Finch West LRT  lines, and to the revitalization of the Scarborough RT line, which was projected to be built by 2020. In addition to the mentioned lines, it was likely that some sort of link would be established between the two lines, so that they could share a single storage facility. The TTC completed the environmental impact assessments for most of these lines, the first one being completed for the Sheppard East line. The construction of this line commenced in December 2009 but was stopped a year later by newly elected mayor Rob Ford. Light rail transit. The following routes were to be  constructed and opened by 2020. Development on the Scarborough RT line was also considered to be priority (see below). The following projects are undergoing environmental assessments with construction to begin after 2020 and be completed by 2030: Scarborough RT. Part of the Transit City project was the revitalization of the existing Scarborough RT line. This project would extend the rapid transit line eastwards from its present terminus at McCowan station to three additional stops. The first proposed station was at Bellamy Road to serve the Consilium Place business area; the second was at Progress Avenue, east of Markham Road, to  serve Centennial College Progress Campus. The line would then curve north to Sheppard Avenue East, connecting with the Sheppard East LRT. A new environmental class assessment is being made to further continue the line north into the neighbourhood of Malvern over a former railbed just east of Markham Road. In the future, an in-fill station may be added at Brimley Road. The existing service is approaching the end of the operational life of its ICTS (intermediate capacity transit system) fleet; as trains are no longer built to that line's specification, a replacement is needed. While an upgraded form  of ICTS (Mark II Vehicles designed by Bombardier) had been considered, the current recommendation is to implement the LRT/tram technology used for Transit City to save on the fleet and track maintenance costs currently incurred by this system which is unique within Toronto. All renovations and extension constructions are to be completed by 2020. However, under Rob Ford, the renovated and extended Scarborough RT was to become a part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT instead and renamed Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line. Bus rapid transit. The plan also called for the TTC to begin six new bus rapid transit (BRT ) right-of-way lines once the tramline or light rail transit construction was complete. Some of these were meant to be temporary until a subway extension occurred while one of them is already in service. The proposed routes are: The York University Busway may stop service once the Spadina subway extension to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station is complete. Likewise, creating a BRT line on Yonge Street depends on the fate of the proposed Yonge subway extension; if the subway extension is not approved, then work on the BRT line may commence. Funding and costs. In April 2009, Finch West, Eglinton  Crosstown, and the Scarborough RT upgrade and extension secured $7.2 billion in funding from the province, while the Sheppard East LRT has received $613 million in funding from the province, and $317 million in federal funding. In November 2007, the TTC provided an updated estimate of the costs of the proposal in its capital budget. The project cost to be paid by the Government of Ontario is $8.3 billion. On 15 June 2007, the Government of Ontario announced its MoveOntario 2020 plan, which calls for a major overhaul and expansion of the Greater Toronto Area's  transit systems, including the Transit City proposal, that will cost an estimated $17.5 billion in provincial and federal funding over a 12-year period. The provincial government proposed to provide two-thirds of the funds ($11.5 billion), and asked the federal government to pay the remaining one-third ($6 billion). However, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government was not committed to this spending plan. The province's $17.5 billion MoveOntario 2020 plan calls for a total number of 52 transit projects in the GTA to be funded, with 95% of the projects completed by the year  2020. Controversy. On 18 June 2009, Toronto Mayor David Miller requested federal funding from the Harper government's $12-billion stimulus spending to purchase new streetcars as part of the Transit City plan. The city faced a deadline of 27 June 2009 to commit to the $1.2-billion deal signed with Bombardier for the 204 streetcars. Miller and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty flew to Thunder Bay to announce their funding for the new streetcars, hoping to convince the Harper government to come up with its one-third share of the cost. Federal Transport Minister John Baird rejected the  request outright. Baird stated that streetcar funding clearly failed to meet the stimulus bill's requirement that the funds would have to be spent in 2 years, as it was meant to put money into the economy quickly to buoy demand and stave off deflation, while Transit City was a long-term project. The stimulus also required funds to be spent on infrastructure in the municipality where the application is granted in order to create local employment, whereas the jobs created by building streetcars would be in Thunder Bay and not Toronto. Baird noted that Toronto was the only one  of 2,700 applicants that did not meet the eligibility criteria. On 25 March 2010, the Ontario provincial government announced their decision to postpone $4 billion of funding to Metrolinx for the MoveOntario 2020 project, which included funding for Transit City. Miller had expressed discontent and condemned McGuinty, who had earlier promised to provide full funding for Transit City in order for it to be built before the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The initial investment was to create approximately 100,000 jobs. The stated reason for the decision was a $21.3 billion deficit in the 2010 provincial operating  budget. Standard economic metrics, however, show that as stimulus, Transit City adds significantly to provincial tax revenues, and given the province's 50-year amortization, the plan overall reduces Ontario's annual budget deficit. This caused widespread debate, protests and criticism of Premier McGuinty by politicians and local groups. As a result of the postponement, the plan has since been scaled down and expected completion dates have been further pushed back. The delay in funding, according to Miller, meant that the priority LRT lines (Scarborough RT, Etobicoke–Finch West and Eglinton Crosstown) would not be able to meet their planned  construction and opening dates; work on the Sheppard East line would proceed as its construction had already begun. Despite the controversy over the funding, Metrolinx negotiated a deal with Bombardier Transportation for a new fleet of trams or light rail vehicles which would be used on future Transit City lines. Since the announcement, the City of Toronto and community groups began a lobbying campaign to restore funding, similar to the campaign leading to the initial funding. Mayor Miller condemned the funding delay and requested riders to contact their members of provincial parliament to have the government restore the funding. Other  Transit City advocates petitioned and organized rallies to promote the immediate construction of the projects. The Public Transit Coalition was launched by transit riders to counter the delay in Transit City funding. On 21 April 2010, the group held an event at the Toronto City Hall Council Chambers. Economic effect. Transit City was expected to create approximately 200,000 new jobs in Ontario from $8.3 billion invested. This included operation, construction, and economic stimulus effect of spending. Unemployment reached 9% in 2010, the GTA's highest level since 1995. The Ontario government's promised funding for Transit City would create  short-term economic growth of $12.4 billion per year, adding in the near-term 2.1% to Ontario's GDP, according to the American Public Transportation Association. According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities research, Transit City was to produce a first-year GDP gain of $17.3 billion, were all the money to be spent in the first year. After five years the project adds $8.0 billion per year to GDP, with each $1 billion spent on transit adding 0.06% to Canada's GDP annually. This compares closely to US Congressional testimony, which shows infrastructure investment to  stimulate annual GDP at a multiplier of 1.69 within one year, or $14 billion per year for Transit City. Both studies count direct impact of spending only. In addition to this direct consequence, long-term indirect effects on business costs, productivity, and consumer spending from reduced congestion and travel costs create an additional $14.1 billion of value annually to Ontario's economy. Other indirect effects not measured are improved air quality and public health and reduced carbon emissions from extending rapid transit to 1.1 million more people. Ontario taxes capture 12% of Ontario's GDP, meaning that Transit  City's stimulus effect directly adds to provincial tax revenue. Transit City's direct economic impact of $12.4 billion per year nets the Ontario treasury $1.4 billion in annual tax revenue. Indirect effects on congestion and transportation costs produce an additional $1.7 billion per year in tax revenue. Government of Canada Bonds currently offer 4% interest for a 10-year term. Transit City's $8.3 billion expansion funding, if amortized over 10 years at prevailing bond rates, cost the province $1.2 billion per year. With provincial tax revenues of $3.1 billion per year, Transit  City would easily make up its financing cost.