City calls for Sheppard subway financing plan

The clearest indication yet of how Mayor Rob Ford is looking to finance his Sheppard subway extensions is revealed in a new request for proposals posted by the city on behalf of the Toronto Transit Infrastructure Ltd.

That's the consulting arm of the TTC that was pressed into service to apply for federal funding for privately backed infrastructure projects.

The document shows that TTIL is looking for a consultant that would come up with a plan on how development charges, tax increment financing and development rights over subway stations, could be used to pay for the subway, which Ford wants to extend west of Yonge to Downsview station and east to Kennedy, running seamlessly onto the Scarborough RT tracks.

The $200,000 contract would also include revenue forecasts on each of the city's planned transit expansion routes, including the provincially funded Eglinton Crosstown.

The request for bidder proposals suggests that any increase in value and development charges realized along the Eglinton line could potentially be poured back into the Sheppard corridor, something that raised eyebrows at the Toronto Environmental Alliance, which continues to campaign for a return to the more affordable light rail transit plan that Ford rejected.

"This basically means the benefits of any new development or construction along Eglinton are going to be redirected to the Sheppard West or East," said TEA's Jamie Kirkpatrick.

"If I lived along Eglinton or I was a councillor along there I’d be asking a lot of questions about what does this actually mean for my community," he said.

Transit blogger Steve Munro echoed some of those concerns.

"This begs the question of how we would ever fund rapid transit entirely with TIF revenue when we must raid the benefits of other projects," he wrote.

The other thing that's clear from the document is how many revenue sources would be required to build the project that was seen as a white elephant even before the existing Sheppard stubway was constructed.

"You could raise some money but it's not even in the ball park of what you would need," said City Councillor Joe Mihevc, who was a long-serving TTC commissioner and vice-chair of that board before he was exiled by the Ford administration.

Even those who don't re-develop their properties could be asked to pay more in taxes once the subway is built, he said.

In addition, the idea of charging development premiums along the corridor didn't work before and it won't work now, said Mihevc. The last time the city dug a hole on Sheppard it had the effect of encouraging more development on Yonge St. There's still plenty of alternatives for developers who don't want to pay a special levy, he said.

Consultants have until June 1 to bid on the job. The city has until the end of June to apply for Ottawa's $1.2 billion infrastructure program.

 

Comments

[Martin]

Let me get this straight. City will hire consultant firm (at $200K+) to figure out how to raise money for the Sheppard subway extension ($ untold billions). Consultants to be hired early June and they'll have until the end of THAT month to apply for federal funding (tax dollars).

Yup, everything about this unnecessary Ford family and friends vanity project is going to be half-a**ed and at an expense to taxpayers. Modern conservatism at its worst.

[Fenn]

To people that voted for him allow me to issue a slow and sarcastic clap for job well done. *slow claps*.

[aym]

Another sign of desperate idiocy from Ford. The Eglinton line was already costed out in Transit city. Only the ends were above ground. Now he wants to stifle the economy along Eglinton so that his own vision can be created on Shepard. It's a monument that should be called Ford's Folly. Sheppard line didn't have a great ROI to begin with. What a boondoggle.

[Joe Q.]

Keep in mind that Ford expressly campaigned on extending the Sheppard subway to the STC and replacing the Scarborough RT with a subway, both by 2015. It's in his campaign literature. You can Google it up.

[alistair]

This is a joke. Sheppard does not have the density for a subway. The original Sheppard Subway line was a mistake; anyone with some degree of transit knowledge knows this. It currently carries less than 50,000 riders/day - we have bus and streetcar lines that carry more than that!

And by completely burying the Eglinton LRT (and stopping it short at Black Creek), all the money from Phase 1 of Transit City has been gobbled up. The Eglinton line doesn't need to be below-grade through the Golden Mile...it's nothing but big box stores there!

$4.2 Billion is a lot of money. Ford is forcing this down our throats and we have no choice but to accept it and pay for this folly for the next 20 years. All in the name of his holiness trying to prove a point about LRT taking roadspace from traffic? Nonsense!

Ford is making a mockery out of taxpayers, Council, TTC and Metrolinx. He's a braindead a$$hole and anyone who supports this is either too stupid to understand facts, logic and reason; or they're lying.

[alistair]

$4.2 Billion, folks.
The current Sheppard Subway carries less than 50,000 riders/day.

Is this really an investment that will see improvements for traffic and transit in this city? NO!

[Quade]

The subway is the only method that is not laughable, for a world class city. Regardless who is sitting in the Mayors chair, this is the only way to progress.

[kevin in taxoronto]

Mihevic is a dinosaur. "Can't be done". What are his solutions? The status quo won't do.

[j-rock]

People get the government they deserve. The problem is that the rest of us get it too.

[Michael Gnit]

Tingtreats ... And to think when you Voted for Rob Ford you got Doug too ... Kind of a two for one ... I can't say anything more ... Just fill in the comic blanks _________________________.

[Jesse Ewles]

As long both lines get finished on time and on budget, I support unusual tactics. That said, something about this deal is making me queasy.

[Joe]

Actually this makes sense, the only problem is where the money from eglington is going. They should have never built that dumb sheppard line in the first place. the bigger need was extending the yonge/spadina line up to York universeity back 16 years ago, and also the cross town line across eglington. Council missed the boat with fees for development on sheppard, so now they are trying to play catch up. unfortunately when you are so far behind in the game no matter what you try it will be a losing proposal. This goes back to the Mike Harris days when he basically threw bob rae's subway extension proposals to the ttc out the window when he got elected, and then let Mel have his sheppard line.