In Toronto, the TTC and GO are considered starter transit; it’s what you use until you can afford something better
As the Great Gardiner Debate winds its way through the heart of Toronto, one thing is clear: whenever called upon, this city is ready, aye, ready to offer itself up on the altar of the automobile.
The sorry state of the 60-year-old raised expressway has brought us to one of those moments where nothing less will do. Despite a close call several years ago when city staff actually recommended taking down the easternmost stretch of the Gardiner, its future once again shines bright. Phew. Under the leadership of Mayor John Tory, bureaucrats have come to their senses and realized that the answer was not destruction but construction, rebuilding the relic bigger and better than ever.
The nod to reality comes in shifting the expressway slightly to the north of the Keating Channel, thus opening up a bit of space for development. But don’t worry, the drive is safe. Indeed, by all accounts, the Gardiner will be faster and freer than ever when finally completed sometime in another eon.Torontonians are mighty relieved. For a while it seemed they would be forced to join the 21st century. Then Tory came to their rescue and single-handedly turned back the hands of time. Henceforth His Worship has decreed, in Toronto, it will always be 1958, OK, 1961. And the future is still one long upwards trajectory that will never end.
True, the least offensive solution, Hybrid 3, will cost more than $1 billion, significantly more than the others, but just think of how much we’re getting for our money, a seamless transition from the Gardiner to the Don Valley Parkway and a new elevated highway that will last who knows how many years. […]
