Ground-side Access to Pearson International Airport

By Transport Action Ontario | Aviation , Intercity Rail and Bus

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is studying future airline passenger traffic in Southern Ontario.  It is recommending coordinated planning among all airports in the region.  One aspect that did not receive much focus in the study is the issue of ground-side access to Pearson International Airport.

Transport Action Ontario has sent a letter to GTAA identifying that ground-side airport access needs to be improved, particularly by working towards a better balance between road and rail options.  Our letter can be viewed here:   TAO-lettertoGTAA2015-12-02

Rail Safety Committment from Federal Liberals

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

Since the Lac Megantic rail tragedy in 2013, and numerous other rail incidents in Canada, the issue of rail safety has had high visibility with the Canadian public.  Transport Action Ontario and its affiliates has been vocal in on this issue.  There are numerous posting on this website on the topic of rail safety.

Transport Action Ontario has been assisting a non-government organization, called Safe Rail Communities, to advocate with the federal government on improved rail safety.  As part of the recent Federal Election, each party was solicited for their commitment to improve rail safety.  The response from the  Liberal Party of Canada was particularly encouraging, and is available for viewing at this link:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/460d0bf8-fee9-45d3-aff1-11283306173c

We are also pleased to note that the issue of reinforcing rail safety is cited in the mandate letter to Minister of Transport Marc Garneau.

Gardiner East Environmental Assessment – Vertical Alternative

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges

Transport Action Ontario is a member of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Gardiner East Environmental Assessment.  Although our preference was for the “Remove” option, where the elevated structure would be replaced by an urban boulevard, Toronto City Council opted  in June, 2015 for the “Hybrid” option, where the elevated expressway function is maintained.

Since that time, the SAC has been involved in evaluating several different options for the Hybrid approach.  All  involve the same vertical alignments as today’s situation, with the Gardiner elevated and Lakeshore Boulevard at grade.  However, at the SAC meeting on October 20, 2015, we proposed an innovative option where Lakeshore Blvd is actually at higher elevation than the expressway near the Don River.    We were requested to submit a written description.

The description was submitted as an email on October 25.

It can be viewed here:  TAO-GardinerEastVerticals2015-10-25

Letter to Premier Wynne on Federal Government Transit Funding

By Transport Action Ontario | Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario was a signatory to a letter sent by the Move the GTHA collaborative to Premier Wynne reminding her of the federal Liberal party promise to boost investment in public transit, and asking her to impress upon the new government the urgency of rapidly funding transit and active transportation in the GTHA.     Adding new federal dollars will help get us closer to achieving the required funds needed to build the transit we need.

The letter can be viewed here:  MTGTHA Letter to Premier Wynne October 2015

Submission on Modernizing Intercity Bus Service

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

The Government of Ontario is consulting on information and ideas on modernizing intercity bus service.  This is in response to the critical state of the industry, with declining service, ridership and profitability.

The Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance (SWOTA), of which Transport Action Ontario is a key member, has made a submission to this consultation.    It focussed on the proven best practices for integrated passenger rail and bus networks, as documented in our Network Southwest plan.  The submission makes several recommendations on how to modernize the bus regulatory regime.

The SWOTA submission can be viewed here: SWOTA-BusServiceModernization_2015-09-22