Preville on Politics

Five reasons Queen’s Park should take over the TTC

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Philip Preville

Councillor Karen Stintz must be enjoying the catbird seat today. Back in October, she was the first to say that the city should hand over the TTC’s subway routes to Queen’s Park. Now Premier Dalton McGuinty has pronounced himself in favour of the Stintz Doctrine. It would be unwise to underestimate the premier’s will on this one, because this is about more than just transit. Here are my top five reasons why Queen’s Park should—and probably will—take over all or part of the TTC.

1. Fixing uploading once and for all. This spring, Queen’s Park is due to release a report that will set out how it plans to reverse the Harris-era downloading. It says here, and says still, that anyone who thought Dalton McGuinty was just going to turn back the clock and reinstate the old, pre-Harris formulas had their head up their wazoo. This is the best opportunity McGuinty will ever have to make some radical, lasting changes to the old who-does-what equation. Clearly that’s what he plans to do, and if you ask me, those are good instincts. The funding formulas that were perfect for the 1970s are not necessarily perfect for today.

2. Toronto is bigger than you think. Queen’s Park sees the GTA for what it is: a single, highly integrated region. By contrast, local councillors think in Balkan terms. Today’s papers quote TTC chair Adam Giambrone saying, “It’s critical that we retain control for the benefit of the residents of Toronto.” But the city is not an island, and the TTC’s effectiveness depends on how well it moves non-Torontonians in and out of the city. Giambrone is also quoted as saying that Metrolinx, the regional transportation authority on whose board he sits, would never approve a TTC takeover. That’s not the whole story: the province controls the makeup of the Metrolinx board, and again, do not underestimate McGuinty’s will. Ten bucks says Giambrone is off the board by this time next year if he keeps it up with his don’t-take-away-my-toys routine.

3. National unity. I’m sure this seems far-fetched, but, believe me, it’s not. The logic goes like this: the future of transit depends upon an infusion of federal cash, but the constitution says that Ottawa should stay out of areas of exclusive provincial responsibility, including municipalities. This is a huge issue in Quebec, where people take great exception any time the feds circumvent provincial jurisdiction. Last year, when Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay was here for a big city mayors’ conference, I asked him about this issue. It was clearly one of his preoccupations: he was trying to figure out how to route the money from Ottawa to Montreal via Quebec City so that no one got their knickers in a knot over the writing of the cheque. The current federal government, because it is keen to win votes in Quebec, is loath to fund municipalities—and their transit agencies—directly. But if the transit agency were provincially owned and operated, well, that would make everything a helluva lot simpler, wouldn’t it?

4. The city is still broke. Don’t let the balanced budget fool you: Toronto is still hard up. Taking all or part of the TTC off the city’s books would give it some fiscal elbow room. And doing that would allow the city to…

5. Have new ambitions for a change. Ever since I moved here, I have been amazed at the amount of civic pride, ambition, identity and symbolic power that is invested in the TTC. Until now I have avoided saying out loud what I really think, which is that all that energy is terribly misplaced. There is something about reading the comments on Steve Munro’s blog that sometimes feels like being at a Star Trek convention: you are among über-keeners who are far too invested in the tiniest details. Our obsession with public transit is a form of extreme introspection and introversion, because it so intensely focuses discussion within our own boundaries. It’s all bad for the civic soul. Toronto is more than its transit commission, and losing the TTC would probably be a blessing in disguise.

Comments

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Robert February 15, 2008 at 1:59 p.m.

I don't care who runs the show, just make the TTC better, please. Last night we waited for over 30 minutes for a streetcar on Gerrard East. Delays and long waiting periods are also common during my daily commute.

I've lived in 5 other cities in my lifetime and all of them had superior public transit systems. It's very stressful not being able to rely on a bus.

Given Mr. Preville's recent expose on the Toronto government's finances, I'm inclined to share his view that the TTC should be taken over by the Ontario government. They certainly couldn't do a worse job.

Mark Dowling February 16, 2008 at 8:07 a.m.

Philip

the reason I and others invest so much time in Steve Munro's blog is that, well, there are very many other ways to contribute, are there? Sure we could go to Commission meetings to harangue the Councillors if we didn't have jobs or maybe we could go to TransitCamp (wait, Star Trekky convention stuff right?)

Simply put the TTC does not engage its users in what it wants and needs and does not adequately demonstrate its ability to deliver when provided project cash, such as the St. Clair right of way fiasco, the emerging one on Fleet Street and the crazily subdivided Environmental Assessments on the Western Waterfront. Only on Cherry Street where citizens input seems to be taking hold is there any hope.

When the TTC improves its engagement, the activity on Steve's blog will melt away. Steve has a record on getting some results in transit activism at least, whatever about those who comment on his blog. Commentary on escalators, signage (although more Joe Clark's thing) and stop announcements might seem like minutiae but for those with disabilities they are crucial and for those without can substantially detract from the transit experience.

As for Metrolinx - is there any guarantee that we are not merely creating a superTTC with all the dysfunction merely expanded?

Sure McGuinty could remove Admiral Giambrone if Metrolinx doesn't like his proposed lake shuttle and he stamps his foot but then the City could simply not appoint someone - they've done it with the Port Authority after all. Then as with Family Day, the OHIP Tax and so on McGuinty will wring his hands and say "oh! we never thought THAT would happen!"

Anonymous February 17, 2008 at 5:49 p.m.

Steve Munro IS NOT a transit advocate. He is a light rail fan masquerading as a transit advocate.

If he really wanted to improve transit, he'd be working somewhere in the TTC's upper ranks. Instead, he microanalyzes headway adherence on the Spadina streetcar and criticizes anyone who suggests a new subway line be built downtown.

I think the guy seriously needs to get a life.

Andrae Griffith February 18, 2008 at 11:20 p.m.

There's no doubt that reading about schedule adherence analysis is not the most exciting thing, but Steve has done more for this city than most of the new generation of transit activists combined.

I don't agree with all of his policies, but I'm glad to have him in transit's corner.

sam February 19, 2008 at 9:52 a.m.

The TTC was meant to bring a number of improvements online over the weekend, making everyone's commute this morning as swift as a bullet.

Lies - all lies. I waited in the freezing freezing cold this morning, like I do every morning, while streetcar after streetcar slid passed, all of them too jammed to pick up new riders. It's the same old story.

Also, I stood with two 80-year-olds (and several others) in the rain on Sunday as three - count 'em three - Dufferin buses made "unscheduled" short turns. This forced about 100 people to wait in the rain for 20 minutes. People were soaked - babies and octogenarians included. All the drivers were belligerent and refused to answer questions as simple as: "How long before the next bus arrives?"

Improvements my ass. Let Dalton take over the whole system. There is no way he could do a worse job.

Michael Vanner February 19, 2008 at 12:24 p.m.

Dear Anonymous if you are so bold as to criticize others you shouldn't hide behind an alias. If your posting contained some cogent argument it would be of value.

As to another subway downtown, are you willing to ante up the additional taxes to cover the cost? I'm guessing you'd build a subway out to a parking lot in Vaughan!

Yawn February 20, 2008 at 11:14 a.m.

That rant could only be the tired and useless rambling of Slammin' Sammy Galati. Give up Lansdowne already, Sam! It's over. And every time you use some itty bitty micro-level example to try to make Giambrone and Miller look bad, you prove that your repeated claim to have supported them was all a sham. Is it possible that there were unexpected road conditions that forced the "'unscheduled' shorturns"?

Mark Dowling February 21, 2008 at 3:47 p.m.

Anonymous - I'd leave off worrying about Steve Munro and start worrying about your lack of bravery if I were you.

David February 23, 2008 at 10:57 p.m.

Mark and Michael, are you a couple of Steve Munro's queer transit geek groupies? I'd rather see a subway on Queen or King than listen to Steve Munro. If Steve Munro is so good, why hasn't the TTC offered him a job?

Matthew March 5, 2008 at 3:31 p.m.

The TTC is a piece of crap.

I have only been riding the streetcars *501/502/503 from nov-march, and I would say like 20-30% of the time the streetcars are late or never show up because of some accident somewhere.

The ttc sucks with shuttle buses, which come wayyyyy after the fact.

I have asked the ttc, and the government (MPP's) why use streetcars at all?

If something happens anywhere along the line, it's totally messed up. Just use buses!!! The can drive around obstructions!!!

But I guess that would be too clever. The red rockets are sooooo charming afterall. Especially when you can get out and walk faster than them.


Author Bio Pic

Philip Preville

Veteran freelance writer Philip Preville lived much of his life in Montreal and Edmonton before he was lured, like so many Torontonians before him, by the promise of more work and a better living. A National Magazine Award winner and former Canadian Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Massey College, Preville writes Toronto Life’s politics column. He lives with his wife and one-year-old son in Riverdale, just close enough to the Don Valley Parkway that he can hear it when he steps outside his house—but just far enough away that it doesn’t keep him awake at night. On his office wall hangs a 1938–39 press pass belonging to his grandfather, Elias Gannon, who wrote for the Montreal Star.


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