Road tolls one of 16 ideas to pay for transit
By TESS KALINOWSKI
Road tolls, gas taxes and parking surcharges could generate $1 billion each annually toward transit improvements in the Toronto region, according to a report issued by the Toronto Board of Trade on Wednesday.
Aimed at raising the issue in this fall’s municipal election, the report outlines but doesn’t recommend any of 16 potential money-makers.
One or a combination could help pay for the $2 billion annual transit investment Metrolinx has recommended in each of the next 25 years, said board of trade president Carol Wilding. “It’s time we recognize the real debate and start getting realistic about how we are going to pay for it,” she said. “It’s a difficult conversation, it’s not a politically easy one,… (but) the public is ready to have that dialogue.”