Common Ground | Terrain commun Ideas

Connecting all of Ontario with high speed rail system. Make it easier to get from city to city. This will get people out of their cars and alleviate traffic on our highways.

Cities should also be connecting their own transit systems to make travel easier to get from city to city and to our rural communities.

South Simcoe County and northern York Region are rapidly growing, and traffic problems are only getting worse. We need to design, fund and build the long-awaited Highway 400-404 Link, formerly called the Bradford Bypass. This 16-kilometre highway would connect the Highway 404 extension north of Queensville Sideroad in East Gwillimbury to Highway 400 north of the 8th Line in Bradford.

This is a vital piece of infrastructure... more »

GO Transit should implement a frequent, all-day, rail-based service that connects Kitchener GO in Waterloo Region to Guelph GO. This idea would enable connectivity between two rapidly growing regions, supporting job growth, sustainable development, and the movement of people.

This idea could be feasible based on the following:
- Metrolinx already owns the tracks between Kitchener and Guelph
- Stations already exist... more »

The subsidy the TTC receives remains the lowest in North America at just $0.78 per ride.

The subsidy other municipalities get:
• Montreal – $1.16
• Vancouver – $1.62
• Chicago – $1.68
• New York City – $1.03
• Mississauga – $2.21
• York Region – $4.49

If there was money coming from the province the TTC could expand service, keep fares low, it could do a number of things to improve its operation that it just can’t do... more »

We do not know if in future we will be facing a shortage of jobs due to automation, or a shortage of labour due to people retiring.

Regardless, there is no reason for high immigration today, particularly into the GTA. The population has grown extremely fast since Mulroney introduced a policy of high immigration (all the time even during recessions) around 1990. Canada now has about 22% foreign born population, the highest... more »

The goal of building strong sustainable communities applies strongly to our ultimate community anchor: our hospitals. Healthcare institutions are major employers. As patients, we use them when we are at our most vulnerable, so their location is a critical part of the planning process. We cannot afford to approve greenfield hospital infrastructure beyond established neighbourhoods.

Our communities are aging, and outside... more »

The idea of sustainable communities should recognize that we are putting much too much effort into helping people travel great distances frequently in order to get to work, school, shopping, and entertainment and recreation. Metrolinx predicts increasing distances to be travelled by people to and from the GTA, and MTO predicts increasing travel on the highways. Roads widen, taking up more land and vehicular traffic... more »

Given that both VIA Rail and GO Transit are entirely taxpayer-funded, they should be working as a single system, using one ticketing infrastructure and coordinating their rail networks. VIA offers a wonderful service, but tickets are far too expensive and inflexible, and the schedule too irregular, to be of any use for regular travellers. This means instead that people are often forced to drive when they could easily... more »