Projects underscore need for new ways to raise money to improve people's
daily lives
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2012 /CNW/ - Mitzie Hunter, CEO of the Greater Toronto
CivicAction Alliance (CivicAction) responds to the speech that
Metrolinx President and CEO Bruce McCuaig gave at the Toronto Board of
Trade today where he unveiled the next wave of regional transportation
projects planned for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
"It's great that the regional plan is well underway with $16 billion in
dedicated funding for transportation improvements. The next wave of
priority projects announced today will get us a long way to the
seamless, affordable, accessible system we so urgently need to make it
easier for people and goods to move across the entire region. The GTHA
aspires to be world class, and our transportation system needs to
reflect that.
We applaud the announcement of the master agreement between Metrolinx
and the TTC for four new Light Rapid Transit lines in Toronto, and that
the next wave of proposed investment extends beyond major rapid transit
projects to local transit, roads, active transportation and other
strategic transportation initiatives.
But we won't see or benefit from any of these projects if we don't
figure out how to raise money that's dedicated to building out and
delivering the plan. Everyone needs to be part of the conversation -
road and transit users, taxpayers, businesses, students.
With a commute time amongst the worst in North America, our
transportation system is not working, and we do not have to accept it
the way it is. It can be so much better - on average commuters will
save 32 minutes each day if The Big Move regional, multi-modal transportation plan is funded and built in the
next 25 years.*
Through CivicAction's 'What would you do with 32?' campaign, residents have a voice in saying how important it is to
invest in a better system and what difference a better system will make
in their day-to-day lives."
To participate in CivicAction's campaign:
a. Visit www.your32.com and tell us "What would you do with 32?"
b. Share the link with friends
c. Be a local champion - sign up through the site to lead a conversation about this with your
own community.
Regional Transportation is a top priority for CivicAction, and was one
of the key issues CivicAction focused on leading up to and at the 2011 Greater Toronto Summit, attended by close to 1000 regional leaders. The post-Summit report, Breaking Boundaries, Time to Think and Act Like a Region, called for broadening public awareness of the need to implement The Big Move and galvanizing support for an acceptable mix of sustainable sources to
fund its implementation, based on the conclusions of CivicAction's 2010
report Time to Get Serious: Reliable Funding for GTHA Transit and
Transportationprepared by IBI Group's Neal Irwin and Andrew Bevan, Executive Director
of Sustainable Prosperity at the time of the report.
For information on CivicAction's regional transportation initiative,
please visit www.civicaction.ca/regional-transportation
About CivicAction
For the past 10 years, the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance
(CivicAction) has brought together senior and rising leaders from all
sectors to tackle some of our region's toughest social, economic, and
environmental challenges. Led by a Board of Directors and a 75-leader
Steering Committee, CivicAction sets a non-partisan agenda, builds
strategic partnerships, and launches campaigns, programs and
organizations that drive our region's prosperity. For 2012-2013,
CivicAction is acting on three priorities: accelerating regional
transportation; enhancing the region's economic performance; and
fostering inclusion and resilience.
* 32 represents the number of minutes per day, on average, that you'll
save on your commute once The Big Move is fully realized. It is the difference between the average commute
time if The Big Move is funded and built over the next 25 years (77 minutes), and the
commute time if no comprehensive system is put in place over the same
time (109 minutes). That's eight days a year or about two years over
the course of your life. Source: Metrolinx.
SOURCE: CivicAction