So here is my take. When the East End/Scarborough wants transit, there is no money. Visionaries will say that it will help the area grow but elitists will say that "the suburbs dont warrant proper transit, its the suburbs, it wasnt designed that way".
The politically active Islands squatters will scream bloody murder if more people come to "their" island. Also, we need a fixed link to the Islands. This ferry thing is ridiculous.
Except that the City of Toronto doesn't collect any payroll taxes. Look at your property tax bill.
If the city has a billion dollars, maybe some can go to repairing the Gardiner and/or our schools. Better value than a park in my opinion. If downtown condo dwellers want a park of their own, let them pay for it themselves.
The Island squatters are on borrowed time. Thanks to the diversion of the Don River and the anti-erosion measures at the Scarborough Bluffs, the Islands are slowly eroding into the Lake Ontario. The Islands are not getting enough silt to regenerate itself. Lake Ontario is a deep water lake with a current. The Docklands were once a wetland when the Don River flowed to it's natural course. But in it's infinite wisdom, City Council decided that the Don had to be diverted turning the Docklands into a toxic wasteland.
Islanders, who have 99 year leases given out by the city, have quite a bit of 'borrowed time' left. Housing sales are strictly controlled through a trust and rules put in place by the city.
A scarborough subway line would make the sheppard line look positively overcrowded.
You do realize that all of the "squatters" are all on 1 island called Algonquin, which is far away from all the attractions and noise of Center Island? What is the point of a fixed link to the islands when all you have is park land on it? And in the winter, said bridge or tunnel would basically be empty. Since you're so concerned that parks attract the "wrong" type of people, that must mean that High Park, Centennial Park, Bluffers Park, etc are all cesspools of crime right? By extension, that must mean there are never any stabbings, shootings, people taking illicit picture in Yonge and Dundas Square right? Fact: there are the "wrong" type of people everywhere and not building parks will not prevent them from coming out.
I agree on this. What a blatant waste of taxpayers money. I am so glad I don't live in Toronto because I wouldn't be able to afford it on a pension.
Excellent observation, especially your final sentence. "Big Projects" (think Jean Drapeau getting Expo '67 and Olympics '76 for Montreal grab the attention and the fancy and the headlines when basic things like water, roads, social services, etc. no longer fire the imagination of voters.
What about the railway tracks? I bring this up when people mention burying the Gardner, as the railway track embankment is actually a bigger obstacle.
