GraphicMatt.com Archived MetroNews.ca columns and blog posts by Matt Elliott

ArchiveDecember 2014

A small resolution for Toronto in 2015

By: Metro Published on Fri Dec 26 2014 As Toronto gets ready to enter a new year with a new mayor, I could come up with all sorts of ambitious resolutions for our city. So many issues are crying out for attention — transit, housing, even the way we vote. But the thing about ambitious New Year’s resolutions is that they inevitably tend to, um, not come true. So let’s keep things simple. This year...

Where does John Tory stand on Toronto's waterfront?

By: Metro Published on Mon Dec 22 2014 Mayor John Tory doesn’t look a thing like Santa, but I’m going to ask him for a Christmas gift anyway. I’d like to know what his vision is for Toronto’s waterfront. That’s not too much to ask, I don’t think. After all, issues relating to the waterfront will loom large over the next year. There will be more debate over expansion of the island airport. There...

Potentially scary charts to keep in mind for Mayor Tory’s first budget

By: Metro Canada Published on Fri Dec 19 2014 The City of Toronto is gearing up for the 2015 budget process, the first of Mayor John Tory’s term. This is exciting — trust me. It’s where the future of Toronto will be figured out. Metro’s Jessica Smith Cross has some details from yesterday’s budget committee meeting. The big news was that Toronto chief financial officer Rob Rossini mused about...

We must ask tough questions about the cost of public-private partnerships

By: Metro Published on Wed Dec 17 2014 In the wake of the Ontario auditor general’s 2014 report, I've got a lot of questions about the province's use of public-private partnerships, or P3s. Like, for instance, did P3s really cost the Ontario government more than would have been spent had they not bothered with them in the first place? Like, EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS more? That’s a big...

The truth about Toronto's traffic problems: They can only be improved, never fixed

Since he took office, Mayor John Tory has been talking tough on traffic. He quickly unveiled his six-point traffic plan earlier this month. It includes ideas such as retiming traffic signals and better reporting on road closures — to ensure that, for example, the Gardiner isn’t closed the same weekend T-Swift performs downtown. The biggie, though, is his plan to strictly enforce no-stopping zones...

Union-Pearson Express fares seem fair, but ridership will tell the story

By: Matt Elliott Metro Published on Wed Dec 10 2014 After a prolonged and inexplicable period of secrecy, Metrolinx has finally unveiled a fare structure for the Union-Pearson Express. The verdict? Not terrible. Honestly, I was expecting worse. After all the mystery, I would have bet the plan was to charge all riders closer to $25 for a one-way trip from Union Station to Pearson International...

GraphicMatt.com Archived MetroNews.ca columns and blog posts by Matt Elliott

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