Conceptual rendering of Rail Deck Park. City of Toronto artwork.
July 2020
Toronto Mayor John Tory is definitely one of the most likable politicians out there. However, I think his proposed Rail Deck Park, a plan to build an approximately 20 acre park atop the rail corridor rail corridor between Bathurst Street and Blue Jays Way, in downtown Toronto, should be put on ice, perhaps permanently, in light of the money spent fighting the Communist Chinese Party Virus by all levels of government.
There is no way this project will be completed for anywhere close to $1.7 million. I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that it will likely be closer to $15-20 billion. Toronto taxpayers simply can’t afford such a project at this time, and neither can provincial and federal governments, who would be expected to contribute funding, given their respective debt levels at present.
This is of course, besides the fact that Toronto has several other priorities such as social housing and transit that still need funding.
The only way a vanity project such as this should go forward is if the private sector pays 100% of the construction and maintenance costs. Under the circumstances, I would have no problem with “The Rail Deck Park, presented by ABC Widgets.”
A section of the rail line approaching Bathurst Street, that would be covered by the Rail Deck Park. Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
Sources: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/moulton-municipalities-should-cut-spending-instead-of-targeting-taxpayers#comments, https://www.blogto.com/city/2017/12/toronto-agrees-move-forward-rail-deck-park.
