Mayor Tory to announce road tolls coming to DVP and Gardiner
Posted November 23, 2016 11:29 pm.
Last Updated November 24, 2016 11:30 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you drive into and out of the city on the DVP or Gardiner, get ready to open up your wallet.
According to sources at City Hall, Mayor John Tory is set to introduce a plan to implement road tolls on the two highly used expressways.
The mayor will announce that he supports road tolls in a lunch-hour speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade on Thursday. The money raised from the tolls will go towards building transit and other infrastructure projects.
The move is one supported by the city’s chief planner.
The city expects to raise between $150- to $200-million through road tolls, which would be set at $2.
Budget chief Gary Crawford told 680 NEWS on Thursday that if approved, it could take at least two to three years to implement road tolls.
But first, he said the city needs to sit down and have an “honest discussion” with the residents of Toronto.
“We have to be realistic, we have to be honest with them, that to build the kind of city we want, the kind of roads, the transit system, all the services we want, we’re going to have to look at other measures such as road tolls,” Crawford said.
“We know in many cities across the United States, toll roads are just part of the fabric of the city, and in fact, they do work. I am, right now, looking for every opportunity to save money and reduce costs … we need to have that serious discussion about the road tolls.”
Listen to 680 NEWS political affairs specialist John Stall’s interview with Crawford below:
In his address to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Tory is also expected to come out against the sale of Toronto Hydro, citing concerns about unanswered questions such a sale would have on hydro rates. Instead, the mayor will announce that the city will invest up to $250 million in the utility to assist with their capital and infrastructure needs.
The mayor is also going to call for a mandatory Hotel Tax to be applied evenly to all hotels and online accommodations, including Airbnb. As well, Tory will call for an end to the city’s Vacant Unit Property Tax Rebate, which could save the city as much as $20 million.
