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Ontario Politics Toronto Transit Walking

The consequences of losing the GO-TTC discount

When the Toronto subway system was extended by six stops to York University and Vaughan, it marked the first time the TTC’s rapid transit system extended beyond the city’s boundaries. But it also exposed a major failing of the Golden Horseshoe’s transit structure: the complete lack of fare integration. In 2017, the provincial government announced […]

Categories
Infrastructure Politics Roads Toronto Walking

Zero vision in suburban Toronto

Though the city of Toronto has made some progress towards safer streets recently, the lack of police enforcement of traffic laws, the reluctance to spend serious money on road redesign, and the attitudes of some city officials continue to be obstacles towards making Toronto a safe place to walk and cycle. As part of the […]

Categories
Politics Toronto Transit

How TIFF lost the plot

504 King Streetcar diverting onto Spadina on Thursday, September 5 For the sixth year in a row, King Street between University and Spadina Avenues was closed for four straight days. This closure was for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) “Festival Street,” which took place between Thursday September 5 and Sunday September 8. In addition, […]

Categories
Ontario Parks Politics

The province’s attack on conservation authorities

The Ford government’s attack on Conservation Authorities has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility. It’s about ideology and payback. 

Categories
Infrastructure Politics Toronto Transit

A “fantastic bonanza:” another transit plan up in smoke?

“Bonanza’s” opening credits, where a burning map gives way to the show’s cast, is a great metaphor for Toronto’s transit planning.

Categories
Brampton Politics

Why Brampton’s property taxes are high — and what it can do about it

To effectively reduce its residential property tax rate, Brampton must diversify its tax base It’s budget time for most municipalities in Ontario. Unlike cities elsewhere in the world — where municipalities can levy income, sales, and payroll taxes — places like Toronto, Ottawa, and Brampton rely on property taxes for most of their operating revenue, […]

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Election Maps Politics Toronto

Voter turnouts in the 2018 Toronto municipal election

2014 was a watershed year for municipal voter turnout in Toronto. After a disastrous four years of Rob Ford as mayor, 54.7 percent of all eligible voters went to the polls, electing John Tory. That was the highest voter turnout in decades, even higher than 1997, when Torontonians elected Mel Lastman to lead a newly […]

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Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the Downtown city council races

At the end of 2014, despite some disappointing results in that year’s municipal election, I was feeling optimistic about 2018. In 2014, there were a number of great candidates running for city council, and I expected many would try again in 2018. After council finally approved the recommended 47 ward model for the 2018 election, […]

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Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the results in Ward 4 Parkdale-High Park and Ward 9 Davenport

In the penultimate post in my series examining the results of the 25 council races in the October 2018 municipal election here in Toronto, I take a look at the results in Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park and Ward 9, Davenport in Toronto’s west end. Neither of the two ward-level results were surprising. Ward 4 returned […]

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Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the results in Ward 15 – Don Valley West and Ward 16 – Don Valley East

Happy holidays! In this post, I take a look at the council races in Ward 15 Don Valley West and Ward 16 Don Valley East. The new two wards, introduced under Bill 5, encompass most of what used to be Wards 25, 26, and 34. Ward 25, Toronto’s most affluent under the 44 ward model, […]