Cutting transit can be hazardous to your health

Toronto has the third most heavily used transit system in North America after Mexico City and New York City. Yet we rank the lowest for commuting times compared to other major cities. This points to the fact that we have a long way to go in transit investment for an urban region of our size.

A delay in spending on public transit is not just a delay, it puts the entire system in jeopardy. We’ve seen this before when the Mike Harris government stopped the Eglinton line and here we are so many years later delaying it again. The budget freeze may appear to be saving us money in the short term, but it will end up costing us more later, when new transit lines will become improbable to afford and simply won’t happen.

But this delay is not only a setback for commuters, it is a setback for our economy, environment and even our public health. Ironically, as the province was announcing the cuts to transit in one breath, they were setting off alarm bells on the rising cost in public health in the other. I would suggest that there is a direct correlation between the two.

Delaying transit is like delaying a health initiative. Since transit begins and ends on foot, where there’s transit, there are people walking. Walking and transit use is the easiest way to begin to chip away at our sedentary lifestyles brought about by our car-dependent cities. In the end transit helps makes cities more socially, economically and environmentally viable and healthier places to live. Investing in transit is an investment in our public health.

About Dan Leeming

Comments

[Sonny Yeung]

Dear Dan; I am sure walking is better than driving a car for our health. Mike Harris did stop the Eglinton line in favour of the Sheppard Subway in Lastman's North York.
Dalton McGuinty has been the Premier since 2003 and should be the point of attention. There are even Mayoral and council candidates that are members of that political party who should be pressured to adequately fund the TTC.

[Sylvia]

The municipality cannot do too much in this case. It's really the province delaying the plans and somehow it doesn't seem urgent enough to pick up the slack for the Premier. That's pretty sad and probably not sensible. He's from Ottawa and enjoys a very good quality of life there. I suppose it's a lack of understanding of what is going on in downtown Toronto. Somehow, I don't believe McGuinty has ever used the TTC. At least not recently.