Toll roads: a cash grab or the solution to what ails our cities?
They may be coming soon to your city. Toronto wants tolls on two highways into the downtown, to ease traffic congestion and fund public transit. What do you think... is it a cash grab or the solution to what ails our cities?
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This week, Toronto's mayor, John Tory, announced it's time to "tame the traffic beast" by introducing tolls on the two biggest highways into the downtown. He's suggesting a $2 fee for every time a driver uses the roads.
It's a flip-flop. Before he was mayor, John Tory mocked tolls, calling them "highway robbery." Now, he says the city needs to raise billions of dollars to pay for transit and road improvements. He figures highway tolls are the best option.
He's not alone. City councils across Canada are mulling over road pricing, whether bridge tolls or tunnel fees or congestion charges.
It's a political risk. Canadians like our free access to endless asphalt. There's only two toll highways in this country. But the rest of the world doesn't shy away from them. Stockholm, Singapore, London, and San Francisco all introduced road pricing to fight gridlock and expand public transit.
Our question: Are toll roads a cash grab or the solution to what ails our cities?
Guests
John Tory, Mayor of Toronto
Twitter: @JohnTory
Roger Anderson, Chair of Regional Municipality of Durham
Twitter: @Regional_Chair
Gord Price, Fellow of the City program at Simon Fraser University. Served five terms as councillor for the city of Vancouver (1986-2002)
Twitter: @pricetags
Christopher Ragan, Associate Professor of Macroeconomics, McGill University. Chair of Canada's Ecofiscal Commission and a member of the federal Advisory Council on Economic Growth.
Twitter: @ctsragan
Links & Articles
CBC.ca
- Toronto Mayor John Tory's road toll proposal unique in Canada
- Tory set to defend road tolls against all critics, including Doug Ford
- $1 billion added to Gardiner repair could be fixed by road tolls, Tory says
- Consider more levies than just road tolls, city staff report recommends
- Toronto Mayor makes his case for tolls on Metro Morning
- Highway tolls needed to 'tame the traffic beast,' Toronto mayor says
- Road tolls considered, but federal memo says poorer commuters rely heavily on cars
- Road tolls in Toronto? Reactions range from '100% support' to 'worst idea'
- Road tolls are unpopular — but only at first, expert says
- Unlock Toronto gridlock with 'congestion pricing,' report says
- Drivers will feel pain from road tolls, then relief, experts say
- Kathleen Wynne could pay political price for Toronto tolls
- Mayor John Tory explains why he wants road tolls to fund new transit projects
- Not enough transportation options in the North to cut emissions: resident
- Tolls proposed for 8 sections of 4 busiest Nova Scotia highways (June 2015)
Globe and Mail
- TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY Road tolls: Will they actually reduce congestion?
- Tory's road toll is bold, risky – and should be applauded by Toronto
National Post
- Chris Selley: Toll road proposal opens Toronto to strange new universe of paying for what it wants
- Terence Corcoran: Public toll roads are nothing but a tax grab to most of us
- Andrew Coyne: Toll roads the only solution to traffic congestion
- John Moore: The conservative case for toll roads
Huffington Post
Ottawa Sun
Vancouver Sun
- Any move to toll roads, bridges would trigger another referendum: Fassbender
- More Metro Vancouver tolls, fees coming to roads near you
The Tyee
Calgary Herald
- Are tolls the answer to unclogging our most congested roads?
- New report raises idea of tolls to help pay for Alberta road
Edmonton Sun
- Alberta could use toll money to fix roads says report
- Toll-road debate revving up at Edmonton City Hall
Toronto Star
Hamilton Spectator
The Independent (UK)
- The Big Question: Has the congestion charge been effective in reducing London's traffic? (Feb. 12, 2008)
CD Howe Institute study
- Getting More Buildings for our Bucks: Canadian Infrastructure Policy in 2016
- Congestion Relief: Assessing the Case for Road Tolls in Canada