mcguinty grits cut red tape for transit projects... hear, hear

The Dalton McGuinty Liberals have passed a new regulation that cut down the maximum allowable time for environmental assessments to take place on transit projects. As an environmental-civil engineer I understand the importance of having proper environmental assessments done before any action takes place, but as Torontonian, I first and foremost directly feel the frustrations as a result of the mediocre transit system and the endless amounts of transit project promises that never seem to come to fruition. An excellent is the Toronto Sheppard subway line. It literally took AGES for the actual line to be proposed, constructed, and FINALLY come into operation after years of unnecessarily long red-tape. In order for any city to grow and prosper, the transit system needs to grow along with it. Toronto and the rest of Ontario has definitely been falling behind on this aspect. The province needs to look beyond the "not in my backyard" protests and complaints and speed up projects for the sake of long term growth. By merely begging and dumping more money into a system filled with red-tape is not attacking the problem at its root cause. So I applaud Dalton McGuinty on this decision.

Improving the public transportation system here in Toronto and around Ontario will not only benefit transit-dependent commuters but will also benefit car-drivers by reducing the terribly large volume of traffic and congestion on our highways and roads. Something needs to be done. One reason why more Ontarians are not converting to public transportation is that the system really doesn't cover a lot of ground, the times are sparse and it's convenience is very limited. In order to encourage commuters to do so, the system most definitely needs to expand. With increased ridership and less cars on the streets, not only will it greatly decrease congestion, but it will also reduce the burden placed on the air we breath and will make our already-volatile environment more sustainable in the long run.

With transit commissions across the province solely relying on fares and and municipality coffers that are practically empty, projects will not move forward, grow, nor will existing systems remain sustainable. In light of such dim prospects, the Liberals in Queen's Park have stepped forward back in June with the MoveOntario 2020 plan (which hopefully was not just an empty election promise). The plan is to build a whole slew of very hopeful and attractive transit projects over the next 12 years and finance them over the next 50 with the help of the federal government (Harper helping cities? I highly doubt it). Twelve years may be the optimal reality given the available resources but if you think about it, 12 years is a very long time considering the fluctuations of the economy and the more-than-likely numerous turnovers at all levels of government within those years. Furthermore, do those 12 years include the possibility of environmental assessment delays? If so, does this new regulation help significantly decrease the projected 12 years? I certainly do hope so.

I have personally traveled to and have lived in many large cities around the world such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and numerous large European cities. When transit projects are proposed in these cities, they get built and are up and running within one or two years. I understand that the circumstances are different in those cities as compared to Ontario municipalities when considering factors like population density and transit usage. But if it can be done in such short periods of time elsewhere, I am certain it can be done here in Ontario as well. With Canada being one of the G8 countries with the largest budget surpluses and considering the multiple long term positive effects of investing in transit, I don't see why it shouldn't be done.

Public transit plays a huge role in the livelihoods of people all across the province. Let's just hope the extra funding and steps like reducing unnecessary red-tape will help improve a system that is in dyer need of attention.