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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Two items make up 28% of Toronto's future capital budget

Today's city council budget committee meeting didn't reveal too many surprises, but I'm sure more than a few people will do a double take when they look at the city's long term spending plans.

A staggering 28 per cent of Toronto's 10 year capital budget could be taken up by the Scarborough Subway Extension and Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack plan.

Of the $25.7 billion dollars outlined in the 2018-2027 Tax Supported and Capital Budget Plan, a total of $7.4 billion is allocated to these transit infrastructure projects. That's a lot of spending on transit, but the question is whether it's good spending.

The Scarborough Subway Extension has become a contentious issue that has been criticized by transit advocacy groups and has resulted in tensions amongst city council members. 

The budget also outlines other ways the city's tax dollars are to be spent over the next decade, including $5.1 billion on transportation services like roads maintenance and repairs, and $524 million for various Waterfront Revitalization projects.

But the two projects alone exceed the entirely of the TTC's allocated funds of $6.3 billion.

Many items were absent from the budget proposal today, including the much-anticipated TTC timed transfers supposedly set to be rolled out next year.

The budget is yet to be finalized and city council will revisit the matter next month.


by Lisa Power via blogTO

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