TTC To Receive Big Chunk Of City’s Budget

It’s being called the ‘transit budget’, and for good reason.

The TTC is gobbling up half of the city’s bucks this year, cash that will go toward fixing and upgrading its vehicles and stations.

In all, the transit commission will receive $717 million in a capital budget of $1.4 billion. Believe it or not that’s less than the figure transit officials asked for – $747 million – and it’s believed the TTC will be requesting upwards of $800 million annually in the years to come.

Budget committee chair Shelley Carroll admitted that it was essentially a transit budget this year. It’s expected to be approved on March 7.

Some councillors, like Kyle Rae, are wary of the plan though, saying devoting so many dollars to transit leaves little for anything else – like road repairs and other projects aimed at improving the city.

Mayor David Miller admitted the city’s debt load has increased, and said he planned to ask the federal government for a national transit plan. He’s in Ottawa meeting with other big-city mayors, and is also pushing for a one-cent portion of the GST for municipalities.

Aside from transit, chief financial officer Joe Pennachetti said some of the major challenges facing the city include road repairs, parks and recreation and garbage disposal. Not included in this budget is the purchase of Green Lane landfill, near London, Ont., expected to cost $220 million. Options for paying down that deal will reportedly come out in the spring.

Here’s how some of the transit dollars will break down:

• $222 million for 320 new buses
• $104 million down payment on 234 new subway cars
• $64 million for track work
• $66 million for new subway signals
• $31 million for a new bus garage, set to open later in 2007

While transit is getting much more this year than it did last year ($552 million), road repair spending is set to stay about the same, at $246 million.

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