A Big Conversation about The Big Move

Metrolinx is hosting a series of public roundtables on The Big Move – its big list of regional transportation projects for the next 25 years that’s worth $50 billion – and the need for new revenue tools to fund it. Many of those projects will be operated by the TTC under a master agreement signed with Metrolinx last November. Here are the next available dates:

• Saturday, January 19: in Newmarket, Newmarket Community Centre, Room 1, 1-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, January 22: in Mississauga, Erin Meadows Community Centre, 6-8 p.m.
• Saturday, January 26: in Georgetown, Gellert Community Centre, Kinsmen Hall, 2-4 p.m.
• Tuesday, January 29: in Ajax, Ajax Community Centre, HMS Room, 6-8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 2: in Brampton, Flower City Seniors Centre Lawn Bowling Club, 1-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 5: in North York, North York Central Library, Auditorium, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, February 7: in Oshawa, Jubilee Pavilion Banquet and Conference Centre, 6-8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 9: in Toronto, Metro Hall, Room 308, 1-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 12: in Hamilton, Hamilton Art Gallery, 6-8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 16: in Dundas, Dundas Town Hall, 1-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 19: in Richmond Hill, Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts, Plaza Suite, 6-8 p.m.

Registration is optional. For more information, please call 1-888-480-2546 or visit bigmove.ca/roundtable.

***

Why is 32 an important number?

Here’s a question for commuters: What would you do with 32? That’s 32 minutes extra in your day. Shop? Snooze? Share some extra time with your family and friends, perhaps?

The Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance’s regional transportation campaign landed in the system this week. The station and vehicle posters are encouraging commuters to share their ideas on what they would do with the 32 minutes.

The campaign’s goal is to prompt residents across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to think about the impact of traffic gridlock on their quality of life, and to share what a better transportation system would mean to them. CivicAction aims to build public and decision-maker appreciation for the value of a better system, and the need for sustainable ways to pay for it.

“Transportation is at an all-time high as the top local issue that concerns people in the GTHA, and they have come to the conclusion that major action is in fact necessary to improve the quality of their own lives,” said CivicAction Chair John Tory at a news conference from City Hall on Jan. 14.

According to Metrolinx, 32 minutes is the difference between the average commute time if The Big Move is funded and built over the next 25 years (77 minutes), and if no comprehensive system is put in place (109 minutes).

Share what you would do with 32 at your32.com.