Commuting without a car could get a lot easier -- in 25 years.
And one of the first rapid transit projects to make that happen will break ground in northeastern Toronto next year.
The board of directors for Metrolinx unanimously passed yesterday its ambitious 25-year $50 billion project to build more than 1,200 kms of rapid transit lines throughout the GTA and Hamilton.
The massive infrastructure project, called The Big Move: Transforming Transportation in the GTAH, surprised many when it was released in early October and did not include tolls for the Gardiner Expressway or the Don Valley Parkway.
1108TNTO Condo Critic: Carlton St. has an identity crisis
The past may be a foreign country but it`s one that can still be found in many Toronto neighbourhoods, Carlton St. among them. True, Carlton is actually a number of streets, but from Parliament St. west to Jarvis, it`s the 19th-century city writ large. Mansions, rowhouses and, of course, churches are everywhere. It reminds us of just how urban the 1800s were, even in this then-provincial outpost.
Q: The re-routing efforts of the contractors widening the QEW are, in my opinion, quite exceptional. There is very little disruption to the flow of traffic through St. Catharines.
Each day there seems to be a new pathway to allow the contractors to proceed on yet another section and still keep cars clipping along. Who sits down and figures all this out -- to know what section must be dealt with and in what order?
Sitting at their kitchen table, Roy and Elizabeth Amaron examine the drawing of a 890-home development proposed for construction behind their Hampton Court residence in St. George.
"It absolutely boggles the mind," Elizabeth says. "It makes you want to cry for St. George."
Since they moved to the village four and a half years ago, deer, coyote, geese and rabbits have been occasional visitors to the Amarons` backyard, which borders a sprawling farmer`s field where Empire Communities has proposed the 164-acre residential development, which also includes a commercial component.
The fire-scene property had been slated for a large-scale redevelopment which would make it look more like Las Vegas than the beachfront town local residents had come to know.
As fire razed the old pedestrian mall last November, plans were already underway to transform Wasaga Beach from its modest past into something that could rival Blue Mountain a few kilometres across the bay, and visible in the distance.
Wasaga Beach CAO George Vadeboncoeur said plans for the massive beachfront redevelopment are still moving forward.
1108OTWA Residents express concern about where Ottawa is headed Improving public transit is No. 1 priority, survey finds
Ottawa citizens are happy to live in this city, but increasingly concerned about the direction of city government, according to a large survey released to councillors and the public yesterday.
The Harris/Decima survey of 1,128 residents, conducted in October, found residents are proud of their city, but 31 per cent of residents are concerned the city is headed in the wrong direction, compared with 26 per cent a year ago. Fifty-two per cent said the city is headed in the right direction.
It`s full steam ahead for the latest incarnation of Ottawa`s transit plan.
City council has voted in favour of a 25-year Transportation Master Plan that includes a $2.1-billion investment to convert the Transitway to light rail from Blair Rd. station to Tunney`s Pasture and build a downtown transit tunnel. Staff have said a tunnel could be completed in 10 years.
The federal and Ontario governments have set a deadline of Dec. 5 for struggling automakers seeking financial support to crack open their books.
The two governments are asking top Canadian executives at the Detroit Three automakers to provide detailed financial information and a restructuring plan for their Canadian operations.
In the real estate world, it`s the equivalent of a price rollback at Wal-Mart.
Last year it was all about multiple offers, and like nervous suitors at a high school dance, buyers were lined up, hoping to be picked by choosy vendors.
But this year vendors are the ones handing out the corsages while adjusting to the new reality that the average Toronto-area home is worth $41,672 less than it was a year ago, while sales are down by 35 per cent.
