David Miller - The TTC’s Strongest Advocate

From day one, Toronto Mayor David Miller has been a strong advocate for the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) and has always stood behind his belief that building a better public transit service is key in officially making Toronto the world-class city that it is on the way to becoming. He played a major role in the negotiations in 2004 that got the TTC some much needed funding in the way of a billion dollars. His endorsement of the creation of the ‘streetcar right-of-way’ on St. Clair Avenue was met with some opposition by locals but after some delay the project was allowed to move forward. This move will play a big part in making the transit system more efficient. This is just one of the ways in which David Miller has supported the TTC Ridership Growth Strategy.

Also in his mission to improve the TTC and ultimately the city, David Miller also endorsed the TTC’s plan to buy more subway cars. This plan, as many others, was met with some opposition because Bombardier was awarded the contract to build the subway cars with a non-competitive bid. In most cases contracts of this magnitude are awarded via bids by multiple manufacturers. But he stood behind his decision and it’s being carried out as planned.

Some other initiatives that are in the works as far as improving Toronto’s transit system includes a plan to connect Toronto neighborhoods with a light-rail network as well as a plan to build more than one thousand kilometers of bike lane in the city which is not only an effort to make it easier to get around but also to help make Toronto greener and lower emissions.