Comment 35261

By Michelle Martin (registered) - website | Posted November 10, 2009 at 20:31:27

"I agree, which is why I advocate establishing congestion tolls (variable based on time of day) on highways in conjunction with increasing the speed and frequency of GO Train service so that it becomes a viable alternative to driving." (Ryan, above)

That would certainly be preferable to more tolls and taxes in the absence of any immediate transit improvement. I'll admit (and I know it's a counter-productive inclination) I just have a hard time with consumption taxes on necessities, or on necessary travel routes, because there's no getting around the fact that they are miserable things for people who struggle to make ends meet, who would have to travel via multiple transfers to and from places in the GTA to get to work if they didn't drive because there is no commuter train, period.

It's miserable that poorer people will be made to pay for the way our cities and suburbs have turned out, based on decisions that were made decades ago.

But I'll admit, too, that there's probably no other choice. (For anyone wondering, the comment Ryan was referring to was lost, and what I've just written here pretty much sums what I had said with it)

More generally, partially addressing one commenter above, but also just making an observation: I will be forever mystified by Canadians who consider themselves to be completely self-made, without thinking of all the efforts of a cast of thousands, including taxpayers, that contributed in some measure to their health, welfare and education... (tangential, I know)

“Conviction without experience makes for harshness. ” Flannery O'Connor

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