ALL ABOUT SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS AND THE FUN STUFF

Ever-righteous Toronto Mayor Tory lectures that Councillor  Ford should "set an example" 

The Councillor acknowledged driving in HOV lanes when he needed to get somewhere in a hurry. 

A news video showed a highway with two packed lanes inching forward and not a single car in the HOV Lane.

Toronto Police says  the Councillor could be charged. 

Right.... If they catch him. 

The media are  in an ever-so- temporary tizzy with this bad boy. 

Councillor Ford  may have a better understanding of how people think  than either John Tory or the media. 

Last week  Toronto Council  passed a bylaw to reduce speed limits on residential streets. 

Little will change. 

Police will not issue tickets for speeds less than that understood by drivers as the urban standard.

Drivers will continue to drive at  speed learned from the  provincial driving manual.

Councillors can posture to heart's content.

The police will assess what it takes to keep streets safe and proceed accordingly. 

If the Police Chief is asked ,his answer will be discreet. "We will do what needs to be done to keep the city safe" 

Because  in fact  that is the authority of the police department. 

Th city's only obligation is to pay 100% of the cost.  

The bylaw will be all it can be. Window dressing. 

In the meantime giant sink holes open up on busy routes  because  the city doesn't maintain infrastructure properly..

Property taxes are less than ours but that's not the point of this post. 

Thousands of gallons of water were lost in a cavity big enough to swallow a car recently. It happens regularly. Iron pipes are a hundred years old and corroded. 

A few years ago,Aurora Treasurer and Director of I&E  informed Council water rate increases were due in part to water loss which had increased 12% in a year. I asked for a list of the water breaks to show 

how water loss had increased. I never got that information. 

Now then....York Region is buying water from Toronto . Do the rates we pay for that water include the cost of  their water loss because they do not maintain infrastructure properly .

Our Mayor informed us, when he was still like a deer in the headlights,water is the best bargain we get.

 

Really. 

Why are we taking only 25%  from aquifers under our feet and buying 75% from Toronto and the Region of Peel. The cost must recover the cost of water loss caused by failure to maintain infrastructure.

We pay  higher taxes to maintain our infrastructure and then pay higher water rates because our water supplier does not maintain theirs. They have lower property taxes. 

We cannot deny residential development as long as we can provide hard services.

 Water is a hard service. 

If we didn't buy water from Toronto and Peel, would we have enough for new development?

Could  we say NO ?

I think maybe so.