New public transit options that ought to be considered

Transportation planning at all levels of government still has a long way to go. In the GTA, rea, the planning has for far too long proceeded on the assumption that nearly all commuters in the outlying areas will continue to use their cars to and from work, and that for the most part they'll be able to do it on the existing roadways.

Granted, there has been some progress in recent years. Although we hear nothing in the way of plans for a coherent national transportation policy, the federal government has occasionally helped the provinces and municipalities by way of infrastructure grants, and more recently has been sharing a little of its enormous income from motor vehicle fuel taxes with the municipalities.

At the provincial level, the McGuinty government has been doing a few things such as extending Highway 410, seemingly committing itself to widening Highway 10 between Caledon Village and Orangeville, and providing some aid for struggling local transit systems. Additionally, the introduction of extra high occupancy lanes on some 400-series highways that are reserved for buses, taxis and vehicles with more than one occupant will assist both public transit and car-pooling.

For its part, GO Transit has announced plans to expand its train service, with some trains at long last using the CP Rail line between Bolton and Toronto, and the provincial agency is apparently reacting positively to a suggestion that the new Orangeville train station also serve as a GO Transit depot.

These are obviously steps in the right direction, but in our submission they fall far short of providing long-term solutions to the present and future gridlock in the GTA area.

At the national level, it's surely high time Via Rail became involved in passenger services beyond its single transcontinental train and the service on the Windsor-Montreal corridor.

As matters stand, there's no meaningful role being played by Via to complement GO Transit services in the Toronto-centred region.

These days, with many commuters facing long drives from points outside the GTA, a speedy Via train ought to be available on weekday mornings and evenings from such points as Hamilton, Guelph, Orangeville, Alliston, Barrie, Peterborough and Port Hope, all making stops to connect with the existing and planned GO train termini.

Of course, the two best tools used to boost commuter train patronage are parking and local transit. And this can present real challenges in places like Orangeville and Caledon.

In Caledon, a need will clearly exist in the Bolton area once GO train service is launched (whenever that is), but it would be a great idea to have a major parking lot established at the future site of the GO train station.

Beyond that, the Town of Caledon should be looking closely at the possibility of integrating a local transit service with Brampton Transit, and on Highway 10 bridging the gap between the Orangeville and Brampton bus services.

Ultimately, the best selling point for good public transit services is their ability to permit families to get along with a single vehicle, with the attendant savings in fuel and insurance costs, in addition to the initial outlays and maintenance costs.

Of course, the reality is that no public transit system will suit everyone's needs, and one thing that ought to be considered by the province and regional governments in the GTA is the construction of large perimeter parking lots close to exits from 400- series highways and/or GO train or bus stations.

A couple of examples would be in Caledon near the next extensions of Highway 410 and 427. One west of Highway 10 near the future interchange with 410 could serve for access to express GO buses using 410 and 407 to the Bramalea GO station and ultimately the new terminus for the Spadina subway.

Similarly, a large parking lot southeast of Bolton could provide access to both the new GO train service and an express bus along Highway 427 to the Kipling subway station.

The aim, as always, would be to make the combination of private and public transit truly competitive in terms of both timing and cost. Once that happened, gridlock would start to become a thing of the past.