Moving people and goods

The importance of transportation infrastructure to the lives of Ontarians should not be underestimated. An efficient highway network means people spend less time in their cars and more time with their families. Provincial roads, rails, and ports take Ontario-made goods to new markets and bring in parts, goods and materials on which Ontario businesses depend to create jobs, generate revenue, and keep Ontario growing. An efficient transit network reduces congestion in our cities and improves the quality of people’s lives by helping them get to where they need to be faster.

Our government will keep people and goods moving by improving Ontario’s transportation network. Whether it’s highways, subways, light rail transit or the GO network, we will build the type of transportation infrastructure that best serves the needs of each community. As we build this new infrastructure, our government will leverage economic opportunities for transit-oriented development to build more housing and workplaces along transit lines while significantly reducing costs to taxpayers.

The current landscape

1. Transportation infrastructure needs repair to address congestion

The people of Ontario are tired of being stuck on congested roads and riding on over-crowded subways, buses, and commuter trains.

There is a significant economic cost to Ontario’s economy each year due to congestion. It causes delays in the delivery of goods and services and slows down the day-to-day operations of businesses when we want to grow the economy. It also causes people to spend more time sitting in traffic and less time with their families.

Congestion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area alone is estimated to cost our economy as much as $11 billion per year in lost productivity.^{footnote 4[4]}

2. Red tape and lack of investment is plaguing Toronto’s transit system

Toronto is a world-class city, but much-needed expansion of its subway system is a generation behind. Decisions regarding the construction of new lines and stations continue to be mired in bureaucratic red tape and local political deadlock.

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area needs an efficient and modern transit system to keep pace with growing communities and manage traffic congestion.

That is why the Province is taking a leadership role by making the delivery of new subway projects both a provincial responsibility and priority to bring the network into the 21^st century.

The Toronto subway system supported more than 213 million passenger trips in 2017.^{footnote 5[5]} In recognition of its importance to moving people, we will work to ensure the subway system is planned, built and maintained to meet the transportation needs of Toronto and the broader region.

This will get subways built faster and more efficiently while reducing costs and driving economic growth.

3. Ontario can attract more investment in our infrastructure and not just rely on public funding

The taxpayer should not foot the bill for all the province’s infrastructure needs — it is unfair and unsustainable, particularly for communities with limited tax bases.

Ontario can do more to incentivize the private sector to contribute to the development of infrastructure. We need to find ways to reward, not block, private sector partners who want to invest in community infrastructure. We must provide ministries and municipalities with tools to help attract private sector expertise and funding.

In many cases the public and private sector can work together for the benefit of everyone. For example, we are exploring opportunities to allow developers to build above and around transit stations in exchange for contributing to the cost of those stations. This helps build mixed-use communities around stations and gets people moving faster and more easily.

Our commitment

1. Moving goods: Make needed improvements to our transportation infrastructure

The Province understands our transportation system is the backbone of our society and is a network that drives our economy.

That is why we will:

• widen stretches of Highway 401 in Southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
• explore the use of new technologies, prioritize infrastructure and conduct long-term planning to improve the efficiency of the movement of goods
• use pre-clearance and pre-screening technologies to allow safe carriers to bypass highway inspection stations and keep goods moving
• resume the Environmental Assessment for the GTA West Corridor to identify and address transportation needs in the corridor through York, Peel and Halton Regions
• complete the Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan, Southwestern Ontario Transportation Plan and long-term transportation needs assessments in all regions of the province to ensure the efficient movement of goods across Ontario

These actions demonstrate the government’s commitment to making smart investments in public transportation and ensuring Ontario is open for business.

2. Moving people: Accelerate the delivery of new transit infrastructure

Ontario will make historic investments in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area transit network, including the Toronto subway system. This is a critical step towards keeping pace with growing communities and managing traffic congestion.

We will:

• provide regional leadership and funding stability as we deliver the biggest network expansion in generations
• build the Ontario Line to connect downtown Toronto to both Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre, and all the neighbourhoods in between
• transform the GO Transit rail system to increase service and expand the network
• complete the Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan to guide Metrolinx’s transit implementation work, and ensure that highway and transit investments are coordinated to keep people and businesses in the region moving
• continue to review initiatives to meet transportation needs in the North, including optimizing bus services, exploring options for passenger rail services and supporting rail freight, rail remanufacturing and repair operations
• leverage investments from other levels of government and the private sector to expedite the implementation of priority regional transit projects in the Southwest and East of the province

3. Adopting market-driven transit-oriented development

Residents, businesses and developers want convenient access to reliable infrastructure. Transit-oriented developments create vibrant, livable and sustainable communities by combining higher-density, mixed-use developments with close access to transit stations.

Working with the private sector to leverage third-party investments and unlock land value will help get much-needed transit infrastructure built quickly and for less money. It will also help increase transit ridership and enhance customer experience through the development of dense, mixed-use integrated development at transit stations.

One way to leverage third-party investment is to partner with a private sector developer who will take on responsibility for delivering or funding certain elements of the project, such as new station construction or maintenance. In exchange, the developer gains the right to develop homes, offices, or mixed-use development above or around the station.

The Province is developing a strategy for a market-driven approach to transit-oriented development. In the meantime, we have already seen successful examples of early transit-oriented development initiatives, such as at the Woodbine GO station.

In March 2019, the Province announced a partnership with the private sector to construct a new Woodbine GO station on the Kitchener GO corridor.

As part of this arrangement, Woodbine Entertainment Group will pay all costs associated with the construction of the new GO station in exchange for the right to build above the station. This new station will include a parking lot for GO commuters, a passenger pick-up and drop-off area and a bus loop for seamless transfers to GO and local transit routes.

This arrangement provides value to the Province by saving taxpayers money, providing new transit access to the community, and generating new housing and jobs.