Diesel light rail, like Ottawa's O-Train demonstrates a cost-effective
commuter rail/rapid transit solution for many Canadian communities.
(Photo:
Wikipedia/Earl Andrew)
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Annual General Meeting and Public Forum 2012
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21 April 2012, Toronto, ON
Transport Action Ontario Annual General Meeting, Metro
Hall, Toronto, 55 John St., Room 303.
Business meeting 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. - Afternoon session: Via Rail, LRT in Ontario
The AGM will start at 10:00am and will contain officers' reports
covering the financial, organizational and advocacy highlights of
2011-2012. Election of directors and officers for 2012-2013 will be
held.
The Public Forum will start at 1:15 pm. The feature topic will be
"VIA Rail: The Next Decade". Speakers will be Greg Gormick, noted
transportation consultant and a representative (tbd) from VIA Rail.
There will also be a panel on Light Rail Transit developments in
Ontario, with speakers from Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa and
Toronto. Question/answer sessions will follow the speakers.
[17 April 2012]
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Moving Forward: A Public Forum about Transportation
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Transport Action Ontario is co-hosting a half-day public forum on 12 May
2012. The purpose is to educate and empower community leaders (ratepayer
associations) and elected officials on the problems of transportation
congestion, the solutions, and especially the funding challenges in building
the additional infrastructure. High profile speakers and expert panellists
will discuss these aspects. This will be an interactive forum, with several
opportunities for the public to provide feedback and ask questions.
Speakers and panelists include:
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Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham (see report on his plan below)
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John Howe, Vice President, Metrolinx
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Matti Siemiatycki, University of Toronto
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Richard Joy, Toronto Board of Trade
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Paul Bedford, "Urban Mentor"
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Eric Miller, Director, Cities Centre, University of Toronto
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Roger Keil, Director, Cities Institute, York University
Due to limited seating, participation is by registration. There is no fee.
Advanced registration is now available to Transport Action members. For
further information and to register, go to
http://www.urbanneighbourhoods.ca
[13 April 2012]
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Transport Action Ontario challenges Pickering Airport plans
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This 40 year old plan to build an airport has been raised again recently
despite the opposition of local groups and despite the environmental issues
around air travel and the destruction of Class 1 farmland. Transport Action
Ontario has been active on this file.
Here is the latest
letter to the federal Minister of Transportation
[26 March 2012]
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A More Efficient Use of Scarce Rapid Transit Dollars for Toronto
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Transport Action Ontario congratulates the Chair of the Toronto
Transit Commission Chair for reopening the debate on the best use
of the limited dollars available for the improvement of rapid transit
in Toronto. However, Transport Action Ontario proposes an alternate
transit construction plan in which the total project cost would
be $300 million less than the total available funding from the province.
View the full deputation
[6 February 2012]
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TTC Fare Raise Unjust and Counterproductive: Transport Action Ontario
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Transport Action Ontario has made a deputation to the Toronto Transit
Commission requesting that the commission disregard proposals to
reduce its budget by 10%. Transport Action Ontario previously
declared the planned TTC service cuts as a tragedy and pointed
the need for long term funding sources for transit.
View the full deputation
[15 January 2012]
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Pre-Election Public Meeting
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Transport Action Ontario
Pre-Election Public Meeting Summary
Transport Action Ontario held a public meeting on 8 September 2011 at
Toronto Metro Hall: Ontario Political Parties on Transportation Policy:
A Dialogue with Voters. Panelists were Cheri DiNovo (NDP), Frank De Jong
(Green Party) and Frank Klees (PC). A summary of the meeting's
proceedings is now available.
Summary of meeting proceedings
Advance list of Questions for the meeting
[28 September 2011]
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Alternative Routes for 407 East Freeway Extension
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Transport Action Ontario has publicly released a report submitted on 15
December 2010 to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) on
alternative routes for the proposed 407 East Freeway extension. This project
is undergoing a federal comprehensive environmental assessment. The work
summarized in the report was based on travel modeling carried out with the
Ontario Ministry of Transportation's (MTO) updated GTHA travel model.
The report is available in the following links:
[21 December 2010]
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Toronto's Transit City beats subways
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Transport Action Ontario is calling on Toronto city councillors to reject Mayor Ford's plan for two subway lines in place of Transit City. Read the
full
Transport Action press release here.
[10 December 2010]
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Transit in Toronto; Past, Present and Future - 12 October 2010
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Transport Action Ontario hosted a public workshop on 12 October that
included a panel discussion on Transit Priorities for Toronto.
About 30 members and guests attended. Transport Action Ontario generally
supports the regional transportation plan ("The Big Move") that has
been developed by Metrolinx. However, some modidifications would be helpful,
and were discussed at the meeting.
We have made available
the powerpoint presentation
and
the document "Transit Priorities for Toronto".
[22 October 2010]
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Toronto's Legacy Streetcar Network Should Be Retained
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Toronto mayoralty candidate Rob Ford's proposal to replace inner city Toronto
streetcars with buses to reduce traffic congestion is fatally flawed and
should be soundly rejected, according to Transport Action Ontario. These
streetcars are a Toronto icon. Many consider them a major contributor to the
attractiveness and charm of the city. However, their real value is as an
efficient mover of people - their practical advantage over buses in the inner
city.
For more details,
please read the full press release here.
[13 September 2010]
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Call to end DRIC - news conference coverage
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Transport Action Ontario joined with Sierra Club Ontario at Queen's Park
to call for the scrapping of the $5 billion DRIC international road
bridge project between Windsor and Detroit.
A report of the news conference was carried in the Windsor Star
(14 May 2010):
"Windsor DRIC bridge should be kiboshed, say green groups".
However, please see Transport Action's clarification message:
Misunderstanding in Report in Windsor Star.
Additional background:
original media release:
"$550 Million for DRIC Bridge an Act of Desperation" (11 May 2010)
[25 May 2010]
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Advocacy Project Summaries
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Transport Action Ontario is currently involved in various important advocacy
projects. Project Summary Sheets are given below. We welcome the comments
and support of our members and visitors on these projects.
Highway/Bridge Projects
Urban Transit Projects
Intercity Rail/Bus Projects
[26 November 2010]
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DRIC forum summary
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Transport Action Ontario held its
Annual Meeting and afternoon forum in Toronto on 27 March 2010.
Copies of presentations at the Detroit River International Crossing
(DRIC) forum are now available here, (in PowerPoint slide format):
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Introduction: Road Based Infrastructure In the Era of Climate Change -
Transport Action Ontario (introductory remarks by Natalie Litwin, PDF)
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Introduction: Road Based Infrastructure In the Era of Climate Change -
Transport Action Ontario (PowerPoint slide presentation)
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DRIC: The Other Choices - Dr. Dietrich Bergmann, Ann Arbor, Michigan -
available as
(slides/PPT) or
(text/PDF)
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Albert Koehl, Ecojustice, Toronto Office
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Solving Border Chaos! - Paula Lombardi, Ambassador Bridge Company, Warren, Michigan
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Species at Risk - Ojibway or the highway? - Emma Cane, Sierra Club, Ontario
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Trucking and Rail-freight - can we restore the balance? -
Dan Hammond and Natalie Litwin, Transport Action Ontario
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DRIC Alternatives Checklist - Transport Action Ontario
[25 July 2010]
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GTHA Transportation Investment Strategy - The Case for Action NOW
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Presenting - a position paper from Transport Action Ontario (formerly
Transport 2000):
GTHA Transportation Investment Strategy - The Case for Action NOW
November, 2009
Introductory remarks from the position paper:
"Public transit provides many economic, social and environmental benefits.
However, this very important service comes with a significant price tag! Work
needs to start NOW on developing sources of dedicated, stable and predictable
capital and operating funding."
"Roads are also important for goods movement, transit movement and for trips
that cannot be efficiently achieved by transit. Surprisingly, existing
revenue sources for roads are also falling short."
[5 March 2010]
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A New Name for a New Decade
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We are pleased to report that on 29 December 2009 the Province of Ontario
authorized Transport 2000 Ontario to change its name to Transport Action
Ontario. This change harmonizes our name with Transport Action Canada,
formerly Transport 2000 Canada. The Atlantic, Prairie and British Columbia
regions are in the process of following suit. In order to avoid confusion,
our website will be accessible under both names.
[4 January 2010]
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Transport Action Ontario President issues statement on Detroit River
International Crossing (DRIC)
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Natalie Litwin, President of Transport Action Ontario (formerly
Transport 2000 Ontario), issued a statement regarding plans for a
new Detroit-Windsor international road crossing.
The text is available as
"Detroit River International
Crossing Project (DRIC) – Expensive, Unnecessary, and Costly to the
Environment".
Additional background and reaction to DRIC is also available from the
joint submission to Ontario Minister
of the Environment John Gerretsen from a coalition of Canadian and
American NGOs including Transport Action (2000).
[31 October 2009]
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Rail Ways to the Future report
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The Rail Ways to the Future 2008 report
is available, highlighting the issues and projects by Transport Action's
RWTF committee in the past year.
[21 May 2009]
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407 Alternatives
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Transport Action (formerly 2000) and Shift react to 407 East extension plans
with their
response: Alternatives to the 407
East Freeway Undertaking.
[20 November 2008]
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Reply to Metrolinx Regional Transit Plan
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On 12 November 2008, Transport 2000 Ontario in conjunction with
Shift Ontario (formerly the Sustainable Transportation Coalition)
submitted
comments on the Draft
Regional Transportation Plan and Investment Strategy that was issued
by Toronto regional transport authority
Metrolinx.
[14 November 2008]
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Driving and Cellphone Usage
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With the recent news items regarding cellphone usage and driving, it is
still useful to consider the February 2001 paper
Phoning
and Driving Don't Mix: A Case for Banning the Use of Wireless Devices
in Moving Vehicles
[20 September 2008]
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Affordable rail transit in the GTA
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Report on GTA rapid transit (under former name of Transport 2000 Ontario):
GT-Rail: Attractive and Affordable Rapid Transit Across the GTA:
A Submission to the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.
report here (PDF format, 701 kb, 1 June 2007).
[1 June 2007]
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Alternatives to Pickering Airport
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Plans are once again being rumoured for a Pickering Airport east of
Toronto. Meanwhile other more effective transportation options such as
rail and transit services are ignored. Transport Action Ontario is keeping
watch over developments. For background, review our response to
2005's
Pickering Airport Draft Plan Report.
[16 November 2006]
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