Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Private toll tunnel under Gardiner appeals to Doug Ford - The Globe and Mail

swimminginlakes:

“I don’t think people want road tolls,” said Mr. Ford

I’m sorry, but OBVIOUSLY people don’t WANT road tolls. No one WANTS to give up money they could be using to buy fun useless shit they don’t need. But it’s the governments job to make tough decisions on behalf of the betterment of society AS A WHOLE. Leaders who don’t want to (or are afraid to) make such decisions (like road tolls to alleviate congestion and encourage/fund public transportation) simply aren’t doing their job.

This is no different than Rob Ford building subways because “it’s what people want”. What people want isn’t always what people need.

Ultimately, I think this all comes down to ones definition of government its responsibilities.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.

Also I am getting tired of Doug Ford rattling on about every idea that pops into his brain. Just so I have this straight - it is not ok for the government to charge for use of municipal roads in order to finance transit development, but it’s perfectly acceptable for a private company to build a road, charge for its use, and profit from it? Uh sure.

Road tolls are inevitable in most major cities worldwide, including Toronto, and they seem like a no-brainer. One of the problems, though, is that while the charges tax the user directly (efficiency!) they might be considered less than equitable. I remember reading an article that mentioned that David Miller wasn’t open to the idea of road tolls until an expanded transit network - like the one we would have gotten with Transit City - was built, as it would allow residents a choice instead of forcing them to pay the tolls, especially important if they can’t afford to pay. But now that Transit City has been cancelled, something has to be done now to curb congestion and fund new transit development.

This whole attitude against taxation held by the current administration is ignorant, and outright dismissing ideas like this is irresponsible. But I’ve noticed a major problem in this city - and certainly elsewhere - is that our elected officials don’t do a great job of convincing citizens of the importance of particular taxes and fees (cough the vehicle registration fee cough). This is especially true if you consider that the giant hole in the City’s 2012 budget could easily be plugged with a modest property tax increase and a few light cuts, you know, to at least appear to people like you’re managing their money efficiently, or whatever.

(Source: whosecityisthis)

Posted at 10:42 PM 15 notes Reblogged from whosecityisthis