[URBAN NOTE] "John Tory defends road toll plan: If you have a better idea, let’s hear it"

[rfmcdpei]

Chris Selley writes in the National Post about Tory's defense of his road toll plan.

Mayor John Tory visited the National Post editorial board Thursday to defend his plan to toll the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, putting the proceeds toward some $33 billion in approved-but-unfunded capital projects, notably public transit

Comments

[dewline]

Good on him for standing his ground. Toronto might actually get better ideas as a result.

[anonymous]

I remain unconvinced that road tolls will work. The infrastructure required to collect them, and the availability of alternate (if lengthier) routes, lower the amount of revenue compared to projections.

Other revenue tools exist. Property taxes: Toronto's property taxes are half those of surrounding municipalities. Vehicle registration taxes: tried, and repealed by Ford because Toronto drivers object to paying the cost of an extra tank of gas a year for (among other things) driving infrastructure.

As envisioned by Tory, the road tolls are going to be paid mostly by commuters, who's vehicles are mostly not responsible for the wear-and-tear on the roads. (The toll for a truck will be twice that for a car, when the truck causes over ten times the wear-and-tear on the road.)