RC107 JulyAugust2023 - Magazine - Page 9
METROLINX
Part of Metrolinx’s GO Expansion program includes the Union Station Enhancement Project, which will see the design and construction of transit
infrastructure and upgrades at the southernmost part of the station.
“But the best way to develop big complex transit
systems is to do it on an ongoing basis and I think that’s
really important. That’ll make a big difference.”
How far ahead to you look?
“So, we’ve put proposals forward that look at a
2041 date and look at all the different trends in how
communities are developed, how housing is built,
primary development, development plans, secondary
development plans, and really where communities are
going to form and where communities are going to travel
from. And that’s fundamental to have a sense of where
the business case benefits would be and where future
transit solutions must come from.”
Part of Metrolinx’s mandate to improve transit involves
an eye for urban planning and thinking about what a city
like Toronto will look like over the coming decades, said
Verster.
RENEWCANADA.NET
“Cities in the future are going to become more
centralized around transit nodes and are going to be more
about work, live, play in an environment where people’s
time is a scarce and valuable commodity. We see a very
strong trend towards transit-oriented communities, and
we are across the region involved with several developers
and regions and municipalities to make that possible.
“And I think we are in for a huge step change in motor
vehicle ownership. The statistic is that for people who
own vehicles, they use them only five to six per cent of
day. The rest of the time their parked, taking up space.
Verster admitted that for people outside of the City of Toronto, that percentage is larger, for him the real issue about
how communities develop and what’s important to them.
“I think transit is much more than getting from point A
to point B. It’s going to become more way of living and a
way of getting around.”
JULY/AUGUST 2023 – RENEW CANADA 9
