By Jessica Bell
The first official Toronto budget under the new strong mayor reign has revealed an unpleasant truth. This is a fantasy budget built on a house of cards. Even with a seven per cent planned property tax hike, the federal and provincial governments need to hand over $1.4 billion to the city for the budget to balance in 2023. And even if they say yes to Toronto’s official funding request, the city will still cut services.
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
The TTC is planning to add two elevators to its sprawling Spadina subway station. These will be located under the intersection of Spadina Road and Lowther Avenue.
By Jessica Bell
Over the past year, Doug Ford has hacked away at our schools, hospitals, and communities. He’s made devastating cuts to OSAP, ambulance services, and cancer-screening programs. Under his term, class sizes have ballooned, wait times at emergency rooms have increased, and university has become more expensive. It’s a bleak picture. But the good news is we have been fighting back – and Ford is now forced to listen.
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced that construction would be delayed one year at Dupont Station due to difficulties with the third-party contractor in charge of the project. Elevators are being installed at the Dupont Street and Spadina Road station, which has led to regular traffic delays at the intersection.
A car washing machine cleans a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar at the St. Clair Car House in 1934. The site at Christie Street and St. Clair Avenue West was a streetcar maintenance facility from 1913 to 1978, and then fell into disrepair for several years until Artscape, a not-for-profit urban development organization, redeveloped the site into a community cultural centre. On March 3, Artscape Wychwood Barns celebrated its 10th anniversary with The 512 Showcase!, a talent show hosted by Amanda Martinez featuring a diverse range of local performers. COURTESY CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES
If all goes according to plan — and with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) it never does — Torontonians should enjoy time-based transfers starting in August. It’s great news for transit users but critics — who claim it’s an unfair subsidy — are livid.
The officer convicted in the death of a troubled teenager on a Toronto Transit Commission streetcar in July 2013 has been re-arrested for breach of his bail conditions.
More how nice!:
EDITORIAL CARTOON (APRIL 2017): The GRAND TORY by blamb (April 2017)
EDITORIAL CARTOON: A second chance! by Brett Lamb 2037 (February 2017)
EDITORIAL CARTOON: Not really! It’s actually nice! by Stumpy the Subway (January 2017)
The stages of voting reform! by Joe Proportion (December 2016)
Tags: Annex · Editorial · Opinion
By Annemarie Brissenden
The City of Toronto’s proposed tax-supported operating budget for 2016 rings in at just over $10 billion, but what’s remarkable is what it doesn’t include.
Tags: General
A look into the security measures at the TTC
By Samina Esha
After three Dupont station robberies between 2011 and February of this year, no arrests have been made. Security camera footage indicates that all robberies were carried out by the same masked person. On the third robbery, shots were fired at a TTC fare collector, hospitalizing him.
Though construction crews hit Toronto streets as soon as the snow melts, it’s still a sight to behold when a major intersection gets ripped up beyond recognition.
The TTC has shut down Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue for major repairs, closing off the crossroads from July 9 to July 23.
REWARD IS FIRST OF ITS KIND FOR TTC
Security camera footage catches a glimpse of the suspect wielding a gun on October 2, 2011. Police are appealing for any information regarding the individual's identity. Courtesy TPS.
By Richard Frankel