York Region ponders tax to cut gridlock
Advocate says an extra 1 per cent worth it for more transit, HOV lanes
Jacking up York Region property taxes by an extra 1 per cent to speed up road projects is a good idea — but only if road widenings are dedicated to public transit and HOV lanes rather than accommodating single-occupancy vehicles.
That’s the opinion of Peter Miasek, president of advocacy group Transport Action Ontario and co-founder of Keep York Moving, focused on extending the Yonge subway to Richmond Hill and integrating public transit fares among other transportation issues.
“I’m supportive if the widening (is) for transit and HOV (high occupancy vehicle lanes), which is the region’s plan,” Miasek, a Unionville resident, said.
“Plans can change and if they suddenly decide, ‘No, this is just a general purpose lane,’ I would be opposed to it because there are definitely negative consequences to a road widening — more traffic and longer crossing time for pedestrians,” he said.
“It induces more traffic. If you build it, they will come. Not everyone can drive. That was the Los Angeles solution. I lived in L.A. for five years back in the ’60s and ’70s. That doesn’t work.”
The region, which is growing by more than 600,000 residents to a projected 1.8 million by 2041, can’t build enough roads for single-occupancy vehicles, Miasek said.
Faced with residents’ and businesses’ growing frustration with increased gridlock, regional council is considering boosting the regional portion of the property tax bill by an additional 1 per cent in each of the next four years to advance 13 roads projects, primarily road widen- ings, that wouldn’t be built for at least a decade otherwise.
That would mean that instead of regional taxes increasing by a proposed 3.37 per cent this year, they would go up by 4.37 per cent in 2019.
That would see the average homeowner paying an extra $105 this year alone rather than an extra $81, a $24 difference. Several York mayors and councillors appear to be leaning toward the additional 1 per cent tax hike.
They argue residents are prepared to pay more to start addressing their commuting woes, routinely cited as the top local concern.
York Region has been left “scrambling” for money after Queen’s Park killed council’s hopes of introducing new taxes, leaving local politicians with few options to bankroll services, Miasek said.
“I am very sympathetic to municipalities that say ‘Gee whiz, we can’t keep funding all this just off the property tax base,’ ” he said.
Traffic congestion is becoming so bad, Vaughan Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi is worried about emergency response times, particularly on Teston Rd. from Keele to Bathurst Sts. and Major Mackenzie Dr. from Hwy. 400 to Keele St., including at Jane St. where the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital is being built.
“With a state-of-the-art emergency room and the location of the York Region Stroke Centre, a less obstructed route for emergency access to the Vaughan Mackenzie Hospital is of utmost importance,” she said in a letter to the region.
“Communities, workplaces and businesses all need to know that when they call the fire and rescue service, they will get a rapid response — whenever they need it. As we grow, the city becomes harder and harder to protect.”
Vaughan Councillor Marilyn Iafrate is urging the region to build a left-turn lane on Major Mackenzie to the new hospital, opening next year.
Meanwhile, council is considering making $1.5 million in transit cuts while boosting fares by 3 per cent a year. Reducing late night VIVA bus service would save $800,000 and cutting six underused bus routes that are within walking distance of alternate routes would save $650,000.