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Page 2: ariformayor.com arigoldkind arigoldkindformayorariformayor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MINIlores.pdf · Eglinton Crosstown/Pearson LRT extension, Sheppard West Subway extension,

More Than A Map is a plan to transform transit in Toronto over the next 15 years. It is a plan designed in three overlapping phases -- starting in 2016, 2018 and 2020, concluding in 2030 -- that will deliver affordable rapid transit to the entire city of Toronto; ensure that the whole system is fully accessible and in a state of good repair; and prepare the city to make future expansions with a strong backbone already in place.

• 12 new rapid transit lines with a total distance of 207.47 km -- increasing Toronto’s subway, LRT and streetcar rapid transit network by close to 50% to over 580 km

• Approximately 56 km of new rapid transit in Scarborough, 44 km in North York and 42 km in Etobicoke, a balanced distribution that will dramatically improve transit access to residents in under-served parts of the city

• 125 new rapid transit stations, more than doubling the current total across the entire TTC, plus over 200 additional surface transit stops

• Critical infrastructure such as road overpasses, highway hubs and major station upgrades to accommodate new capacity, that will increase the speed and efficiency of this major expansion; prepare the TTC for future network growth well beyond this 15-year time-frame, and convert drivers into transit users

• A total investment of $56.65 billion that factors in the entire cost to build new transit, upgrade the entire network and additional

• operating expenses that must be considered in any honest forecast -- a yearly average of $3.77 billion in comparison to the $6-11 billion per year that experts estimate the current annual costs of traffic congestion and gridlock to the city and Greater Toronto area

• A visionary yet realistic funding strategy based on: what the city can afford right now; how we can slowly increase that investment as new mechanisms are developed to avoid debt financing to the greatest possible extent; and engages other levels of government -- our neighouring GTA municipalities, the province and the federal government who will all benefit significantly from this initiative -- to achieve larger, more stable funding over the long term that is not subject to political whims or election cycles

Phase One 2016-2022: • Sheppard East LRT & Finch West LRT • Phase One of Scarborough RT line & station conversion to LRT• BERT (Bus Express Rapid Transit) along overcrowded bus routes all

over the city, that starts providing the backup plan we need to keep the city moving during a larger network expansion

• Better transit in the suburbs right now• A focus on bringing the real money to the table & getting vital • infrastructure in placeEstimated cost: $12.65 billion The Phase One cost estimate and funding strategy assumes approximately $3.7 billion in provincial, federal and municipal funding reallocated from the Scarborough subway & remaining from previous Transit City commitments Phase Two 2018-2026:• Eglinton Crosstown LRT Eastern Extension, Scarborough/Malvern/West Hill

LRT & RT conversion, Jane Westend LRTway & Finch Northend LRTway• Conversion of the current Scarborough RT into a next-generation LRT &

fully connecting Scarborough to the city• Extensions of both Eglinton Crosstown LRT and St. Clair streetcar west to

Jane Street• Introducing the game-changing LRTway concept into transit development Estimated cost $17.91 billion

Phase Three 2020-2030: • Don Mills/East York/Riverside LRTway & Dufferin/Liberty LRTway,

Eglinton Crosstown/Pearson LRT extension, Sheppard West Subway extension, Rexdale/Weston LRTway & Lawrence East LRT

• A balanced and realistic vision for downtown relief and getting rapid transit to Pearson Airport, and a fully connected city where 3.5 to 4 mil-lion people can access reliable rapid transit wherever they live

Estimated cost $26.09 billion

MORE THAN A MAP: CHIEF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

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Given the population growth projections for the city (250,000 people every 10 years in the city of Toronto alone), it is a matter of necessity that we develop new road-use models if we have any chance of going from gridlock to paralysis -- which is what will happen if vehicle ownership keeps pace with population growth and we add 75-100,000 more vehicles to traffic on our already congested streets every day.

The LRTway is a concept that I believe is essential to making a massive transit system expansion cost-effective and feasible from an engineering standpoint in an already dense city, that provides exactly this sort of innovative new road-use model.

There are a total of 6 LRTways proposed in More Than A Map. The basic concept of the LRTway is as follows:

• Converting all 4-lane sections of Jane Street to 5 lanes, by slightly narrowing current vehicle traffic lanes and widening streets where necessary

• 2 lanes of dedicated right-of-way LRT (moving in both directions)• 2 lanes of dedicated vehicle lanes (one-way traffic)• 1 lane for parking• On-street parking prohibited during peak rush-hour times• Leveraging nearby parking space such as condominium and office building

garages, and building new parking hubs where it is possible to do so• Underpass stations at major intersections• Flexible vehicle sizes & frequency of service according to ridership volume at

various times of the day

Underground rapid transit construction is 3-5 times more expensive than surface rail, and it can be even more exponentially expensive in areas where the density of homes, office buildings and related undeground infrastructure is much greater -- like, for example, in downtown Toronto. The LRTway will allow us to minimize underground construction to the greatest possible extent, and build more rapid transit all across the city. It will be help us make new transit routes into the down-town core during Phase Three a reality far faster and for billions of dollars less. An example that is relevant to the potential savings and why we need to think outside the box on downtown relief is the Second Avenue subway line currently under construction in Manhattan. The cost to build that underground line in one of the densest urban areas in the world? Approximately $1.3 billion. Per kilometre.

It is also part of what I believe to be a long-overdue conversation about the need for greater adoption of one-way streets in Toronto, as so many cities employ to help manage traffic flow and congestion. With well-communicated information about how LRTways will affect (and indeed, improve) vehicle traffic, and accom-modating motorists through making other routes more car-volume friendly, I be-lieve the people of Toronto will not only learn to adapt to this new model but em-brace it.

MORE THAN A MAP: INTRODUCING THE LRTway

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PHASE ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• 2 new LRT lines• 29.24 km of new rapid transit in priority areas• 20 new transit stations• 20% increase in local & express bus service by 2017• Essential infrastructure & planning for future expansions• Overdue investments in accessibility & state of good repair

MAJOR INITIATIVES

• Sheppard East LRT• Finch West LRT• Scarborough RT-LRT conversion Phase One (line & station upgrades)• Bus Express Rapid Transit (BERT) to immediately improve service on

routes such as Liberty Village/504 King, 35 Jane, 36 Finch West and 39 Finch East, 29 Dufferin, 52 Lawrence West and 54 Lawrence East, 81 Thorncliffe Park, 86 Scarborough and other priority routes

• Leaside Bridge Overpass• Humber College Transit Hub• West Hill Transit Hub• 3 new LRT/bus maintenance facilities• 2 upgraded maintenance facilities• Expedited accessibility upgrade & state of good repair within

current network• TTC UniverCity: the world’s first post-secondary institution

dedicated to transit

SHEPPARD EAST LRTDon Mills Station to U of T Scarborough 14.97 km. 10 stations.START 2016 - COMPLETION 2022ESTIMATED COST $1.85 BILLION

FINCH WEST LRTFinch West Station to Clairville via Humber College14.27 km. 9 stations.START 2016 - COMPLETION 2022Estimated Cost: $1.65 BILLION

New LRT lines & stations $3.50 billionScarborough RT-to-LRT conversion Phase One: $400 millionBus Express Rapid Transit (BERT - 100 new buses) $150 millionNew LRT vehicles (50) $400 millionLeaside Bridge LRT overpass $500 millionHumber College Hub: $150 millionWest Hill Hub: $150 millionTunnel-boring equipment: $250 million3 new LRT/bus storage & maintenance facilities + 2 facility upgrades $1.30 billionOpen payment debit/phone/smartcard system: $1.2 billionRoute surveys, assessments & planning: $250 millionBusiness disruption compensation & home/land expropriation: $200 millionAccessibility & state of good repairs (2015-2022): $1.80 billionTTC operating cost increases (2015-2022): $2.1 billionTTC UniverCity (Pilot Project): $50 million

PHASE ONE TOTAL ESTIMATE: $12.65 billion

PHASE ONE 2015-2022: HIGHLIGHTS & BUDGETBETTER TRANSIT IN THE SUBURBS. NOW.

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EGLINTON CROSSTOWN LRTEXTENSION TO JANE STREET0.6 km. 1 station.ESTIMATED COST: $100 milllion

ST CLAIR WEST STREETCAREXTENSION TO JANE STREET1.50 km. 2 new stops.ESTIMATED COST: $125 million

New transit lines, extensions & stations $11.46 billionScarborough LRT conversion Phase Two: $200 millionNew LRT vehicles (70) $550 millionBus Express Rapid Transit Phase Two(BERT - 60 new articulated buses) $100 millionUnion Station LRT renovation $250 millionJane & Jane/407 LRT platforms $300 millionScarborough Town Centre LRT platforms: $250 millionFinch & Finch West LRT platforms: $300 millionLiberty Transit Hub: $200 millionMalvern Transit Hub: $200 millionJane Station & Jane/407 renovation: $400 millionCorktown/DVP overpass: $450 millionBlack Creek Transitway $200 millionBusiness disruption compensation & home/land expropriation: $300 millionRoute surveys, assessments & planning: $350 millionAccessibility/state of good repairs 2023-26 : $1.2 billionOperating cost increases 2023-26 $1.2 billion

PHASE TWO TOTAL ESTIMATE: $17.91 BILLION

PHASE TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• 3 new LRT lines + 1 LRT extension + 1 streetcar extension• 73.83 km of new rapid transit • 43 new transit stations• Introducing the LRTway• Bus service upgrade to ensure a moving city during expansion• Continued investment in infrastructure for future expansions• Continued accessibility & state of good repair upgrades

MAJOR INITIATIVES

• Eglinton Crosstown Extension & Scarborough LRT • 2 new LRTways: Jane St. & Finch Ave.• Bus Express Rapid Transit (BERT) expansions• Leaside Bridge Overpass completion• Corktown DVP LRT Overpass• Malvern Town Centre Transit Hub• Black Creek (401/400) Transit Hub• Continued accessibility & state of good repair upgrade• Expansion of TTC UniverCity

EGLINTON CROSSTOWN EAST LRT EXTENSION& SCARBOROUGH/MALVERN/WEST HILL LRTKennedy Station loop via Eglinton, Kingston Rd. & Ellesmere Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre via Scarborough Town Centre32.68 km new & upgraded lines. 18 stations (4 upgraded)START 2018 - COMPLETION 2026ESTIMATED COST $5.15 BILLION

JANE STREET WESTEND LRTWAYJane Station to Jane/407 Transitway Station15.60 km. 9 stations.START 2018 - COMPLETION 2024ESTIMATED COST $2.34 BILLION

FINCH NORTHEND LRTWAYFinch West Station to Malvern Town Centre23.45 km. 16 stations.START 2020 - COMPLETION 2026ESTIMATED COST $3.75 BILLION

PHASE TWO 2018-2026: HIGHLIGHTS & BUDGETTOWARDS A CONNECTED CITY

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PHASE THREE HIGHLIGHTS

• 6 new LRT & LRTway lines + 1 subway extension• 105.4 km of new, extended or upgraded rapid transit • Downtown relief we can afford & true airport rapid transit• 61 new transit stations• Continued investment in infrastructure for future expansions• Fully accessible TTC in a full state of good repair• Improved regional connectivity

MAJOR INITIATIVES

• Eglinton Crosstown Extension & Scarborough LRT • 2 new LRTways: Jane St. & Finch Ave.• Bus Express Rapid Transit (BERT) expansion• Leaside Bridge Overpass completion• Corktown DVP LRT Overpass• Malvern Town Centre Transit Hub• West Hill Transit Hub• Continued accessibility & state of good repair upgrade• Expansion of TTC UniverCity

DON MILLS/EAST YORK/RIVERDALE LRTwayDon Mills Station to Union Station19.20 km. 13 stations.START 2020 - COMPLETION 2028ESTIMATED COST $5.25 BILLION

DUFFERIN/LIBERTY LRTwayWilson Station to Union Station16.51 km. 13 stations.START 2020 - COMPLETION 2028ESTIMATED COST $3.65 BILLION

EGLINTON CROSSTOWN WESTPEARSON AIPORT LRTJane Street/Flats Station to Humber College via Pearson Airport20.81 km, 10 stations.START 2022 - COMPLETION 2030ESTIMATED COST $3.64 BILLION

WATERFRONT WEST LRT (upgrade from 501 streetcar)Liberty Village to Hurontario St. (Mississauga)18.16 km. 13 stations, START 2024 - COMPLETION 2029ESTIMATED COST $2.08 billion

SHEPPARD WEST SUBWAYSheppard-Yonge Station to Downsview-Wilson Heights Station 4.37 km: 3 stations, START 2024 - COMPLETION 2028ESTIMATED COST: $1.81 BILLION

LAWRENCE EAST LRTwayLawrence Ave E. & Don Mills Rd. to West Hill Station 12.98 km: 4 stations, START 2024 - COMPLETION 2029ESTIMATED COST: $1.85 BILLION

REXDALE-WESTON LRTwayHumber College to Mount Dennis Station13.37 km. 5 stations.START 2025 - COMPLETION 2030ESTIMATED COST $2.16 BILLION

New LRT lines & stations $20.44 billionNew LRT vehicles (150) $900 millionBus Express Rapid Transit Phase Three $100 million401/427 Transitway $200 millionTunnel-boring equipment: $400 millionRoute surveys, assessments & planning: $200 millionTTC UniverCity: $150 millionAccessibility/state of good repairs 2027-30: $700 millionOperating cost increases 2027-30 $2.5 billionBusiness disruption compensation & home/land expropriation: $500 million

PHASE THREE TOTAL ESTIMATE: $26.09 BILLION

PHASE THREE 2020-2030: HIGHLIGHTS & BUDGETAFFORDABLE DOWNTOWN RELIEF & AIRPORT RAPID TRANSIT

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Page 10: ariformayor.com arigoldkind arigoldkindformayorariformayor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MINIlores.pdf · Eglinton Crosstown/Pearson LRT extension, Sheppard West Subway extension,

While “we’re going to build x kilometers of transit for y” is useful to a very limited extent, I think Toronto residents deserve honest forecasts and a funding strategy proposal that puts the cost to build new transit lines into its proper context along with other expenses such as: related building and infrastructure, vehicles, upgrading our current network to a fully accessible state of good repair and other associated expenditures. If we are going to increase our transit system by 50-75%, we are also going to increase the amount it takes to operate it. And the approach we take to funding a major expansion must reflect this simple reality, in addition to paying in a sustainable way for the investment we plan to make.

More Than A Map starts out small and practically, expanding over time in a way that provides a manageable timeframe to achieve stable funding and build smart, scalable transit that works -- all across the city.

I’m going to start in my own backyard, by setting a target of achieving $1 billion a year in transit funding from the city, earmarked for new building projects, by the 2022. This investment will begin at $350 million in 2015, and grow by $100 million to $150 million each year until the target goal is reached. The breakdown of the city’s investment for 2015, growing at the manageable pace I am proposing over the next seven years until we reach our target, is as follows:

• $125 million: 50% share of annual revenues from my “50 cents a day” property tax increase

• $75 million: Dedicated revenue from $75/year Vehicle Registration fee, reinstated in 2015 & increasing by $5 a year (hybrid & electric vehicles exempt)

• $75 million: Projected development air rights on approved projects• $50 million: From Land Transfer Tax and 1% LTT increase on homes valued

over $1.1 million• $25 million: Parking levies

I have estimated the Phase One cost of More Than A Map at $12.65 billion. By reallocating provincial and federal funding, as well as the city’s budgeted contri-bution for the Scarborough subway that I will cancel, we are already one-third of the way there. Money that has already been budgeted into the city’s and the TTC’s Capital Plans can also be considered as part of the short-term funding mix.

These are modest, realistic numbers to start with. Other city funding mechanisms which will be part of the mix are conventional debt financing, tax increment financing (TIF, which makes sense only once routes are in progress and projected tax revenues can accurately quantified) and a commercial land transfer levy. I will also work with council to ensure that a substantial percentage of any budget surpluses, which have been realized several times in recent years, are devoted to new transit. Going forward, I will only consider debt financing options that the experts tell make sense for the city, “good debt” that we can truly manage.

If this $1 billion target seems ambitious to you, I ask you to consider this question: Do you think our world-class city ought to invest as much into transit to ensure our residents can move around efficiently as we do on policing every year?

A $5 billion yearly transit investment would have economic multiplier effects that experts believe would generate five to six times that in direct financial returns and quality of life benefits. My long-term funding model for Toronto transit is called 5-50-50. It represents $5 billion per year in stable transit funding. 50% will be paid by the city, provincial, federal and other regional municipal gov-ernments, 50% will be covered by residents and businesses through mechanisms such as road tolls and parking levies, air rights, tax revenue streams and premium value-added transit services. This may seem like an ambitious target, but it is less than the low end of the $6 billion experts estimate congestion costs the city, and far less than the $11 billion cited as the cost to the Greater Toronto Area.

Direct annual government investment (managed by Metrolinx):$1.0 billion: Provincial government$500 million: Federal government$1.0 billion: City of TorontoTotal: $2.5 billion

Tolls, development, commercial and resident/user contribution projections:$400 million: Congestion pricing and road tolls$400 million: Development air rights & Section 37 community benefits$300 million: Increased advertising & sponsorship revenue$250 million: Surtaxes on hotels, concerts, theatre productions & meals$250 million: Parking surcharges$200 mllion: Tax increment financing$200 million: System efficiencies i.e. bus route and management streamlining$200 million: Commercial rents in stations & hubs$200 million: 2% city-side commercial rent/tax surcharges $100 million: Value-added & premium service options i.e. Lifetime Metropass sales, long-distance fare increases & WiFi pricingTotal: $2.5 billion

I have also proposed a yearly Priority Investments Budget, representing 10% of the city’s annual operating budget that is separate from the long-term Capital Plan. If this idea is implemented, it completely changes the transit funding landscape in terms of how much funding we would need to find from other sources. We are not going to get to this yearly transit funding target overnight. Indeed, if we can get halfway or even a third of the way there in the next four years, that represents important and real progress. The conversation about road tolls with the province will take time, and it will take real leadership; congestion pricing in gener-al will take a great deal of political will to implement. Getting to this target requires that we don’t give up if one element of a larger plan doesn’t work according to plan; there are other options that we must constantly be exploring.

You can count on me to embody the honesty and leadership to show Torontonians, business and community partners, and other levels of government that the city is finally ready to put its money where its mouth is to finally make a real transit expansion plan more than a map.

MORE THAN A MAP: FUNDING STRATEGY LONG-TERM ANNUAL FUNDING GOALS BY 2022THE 5-50-50 FORMULA

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You have a choice between my plan -- which comprehensively and practically considers the needs of transit users and and residents in every part of the city and offers balanced solutions -- and three other plans which are more about politics than they are about transit.

• Mr. Ford’s notion that we can build 32 km of new subways across the city, including downtown, for $9 billion is utterly delusional. It totally misunder-stands the purposes, needs, and realities of rapid transit. Enough said.

• Mr. Tory’s SmartTrack is, for the most part, a reasonably sensible Regional Express Rail-based plan that can be built mostly on existing rail corridors. The province is already moving forward with plans to electrify the rail lines and create an RER network as part of GO Transit. In terms of its practicality as a solution to Toronto transit users’ needs, it does not address the needs of local short-haul riders because the stations (for the most part) are not within reasonable walking distance of either dense residential neighbour-hoods or high-density commercial areas. Mr. Tory’s cost estimates, financ-ing and engineering strategy also leave a fair bit to be desired. However, I do believe Mr. Tory is on the right track in terms of offering part of a solution that could be integrated with More Than A Map.

• Ms. Chow’s decision to focus on a solution that appears immediately prac-tical (buses) and doesn’t toss a fully funded, shovel-ready Transit City plan in the recycling bin is worthy of note. She’s right that we need more buses. Butmore buses will not change our city, our transit gridlock, or address our deep transit needs. The problem with her plan is that the $15 million planned investment buys us a grand total of 10 new articulated buses at $1.5 million each. That won’t even cover two priority arterial routes, and there is at this time no garage space in which to store them. And Ms. Chow has gone on record with only $20 million of potential new revenue (her Land Transfer Tax hike), leaving tremendous funding issues given her nu-merous financial commitments to other promises.

The LRT vs. subways debate is a false one. For me, it is simple: we need to build transit that reaches the greatest number of people in parts of the city that are suf-fering, and we need to do it despite the fact that the real dollars required to build real transit for Toronto aren’t even being discussed yet, much less on the table. We need to work with what he have, and approach increasing the amount of money we do have smartly. In real, practical terms -- speed, capacity and comfort -- there is very little real, practical difference between a state-of-the-art LRT and a subway. To address concerns about surface rail in colder cities, LRTs are used in cold-weather cities

I also believe strongly that we cannot afford to decommission the Scarborough RT -- it most certainly needs an upgrade, but asking Scarborough residents to use buses between the two busiest transit hubs (Kennedy and the Town Centre) for at least 5-7 years is fundamentally unfair and impractical.

More Than A Map is very much inspired by Transit City, and my goal here is to present a vision that evolves it without being lost in “what ifs”. In addition to exact and modified proposals for routes that were part of Transit City, my plan includes two brand-new LRT proposals, along Lawrence East in Scarborough and in Rexdale, as well as completely rethinking how we look at the long-discussed airport rapid transit question. My new downtown routes are modified from Transit City; I believe we need routes along both Dufferin and Jane to truly address north-south conges-tion, and that we need to find a midpoint between LRTs and subways to ensure we can meet volume needs without throwing the downtown core into total chaos for years to come.

Transit is the defining issue of this 2014 election campaign. I have been truly inspired by the passion so many Torontonians have expressed for this most urgent of civic priorities to me over the course of the campaign. It has pushed myself and my team to develop and present a vision and a workable strategy for the future of transit. Thank you so much for taking the time to consider More Than A Map, I look forward to the discussions it will generate and wish you all the best in your travels around this wonderful city we are so blessed to call home.

MORE THAN A MAP:YOUR CLEAR TRANSIT CHOICE IN THE 2014 ELECTION

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