1 Transit-Oriented Governance: a Comparison
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TRANSIT-ORIENTED GOVERNANCE: A COMPARISON OF THE IMPACT OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES ON PUBLIC TRANSIT USE IN TORONTO AND VANCOUVER A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Preservation COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Urban Planning By Jake Schabas May 2012 1 Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between regional government structures in the Toronto and Vancouver metropolitan areas and the development of comparatively high post-war transit use. While local government reforms and the impacts of regional development on transit use following World War II have received much attention in isolation, they have rarely been analyzed together. This paper investigates how the unique regional governance structures in Toronto and Vancouver allowed both cities to counter North American transportation trends by facilitating the creation of policies that favored transit use. By analyzing the historic operating and financial data from the transit agencies in both cities within the context of legislative reforms to local government and the resulting transportation policies, the impact of regional governance structures on transit use is examined. This paper finds that the success of transportation institutions in achieving high regional transit use is closely tied to the extent that local government bodies have fiscal autonomy, jurisdictional flexibility and involve local transit operating knowledge in transportation policy formation. Finally, the cases of Toronto and Vancouver suggest that the presence and long-term sustainability of these three capacities is inversely related to the involvement of senior government in local transportation planning. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Elliott Sclar and thesis reader Richard Barone for their direction and feedback throughout this process. In addition, I would like to thank the ten interviewees in Vancouver, Toronto, New York and London who were both generous with their time and very receptive to my questioning and data requests. Furthermore, transportation and land use classes taught by Dr. David King were also crucial to the crystallization of my thoughts and investigative methods around this topic. The hospitality provided by Martin and Lucy Peters in Vancouver along with the consistent support offered by my roommates, girlfriend and family also deserve many thanks. This thesis would not be what it is had it not been for these people. 3 Table of Contents List of Exhibits.............................................................................................................................................................5 Acronyms.......................................................................................................................................................................7 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................8 Chapter 1: Background, Theoretical Literature & Methods ...................................................................... 12 Institutional Background .............................................................................................................................. 12 Literature Review............................................................................................................................................. 13 Methodology........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 2: Public Transit in Toronto................................................................................................................. 21 Summary............................................................................................................................................................... 21 Early History: The Toronto Transportation Commission ............................................................. 21 The TTC under Metro: Tough Beginnings ........................................................................................... 24 The Politics of Subways and the Transition to Subsidies: 1959 to 1970................................... 31 “New York run by the Swiss”: 1971 to 1989......................................................................................... 40 Growing Regional Fragmentation............................................................................................................. 52 The End of an Era: Ridership decline and the dissolution of Metro......................................... 55 Chapter 3: Transportation in Vancouver: Institutional Innovation.......................................................... 61 Summary............................................................................................................................................................... 61 Early History: Cooperative Regional Governance ............................................................................ 61 ‘Do it yourself planning:’ Transportation during the 1970s-1990s............................................ 65 The Provincial Control of Local Transit ................................................................................................ 67 A Return to Planning: The Creation of a Regional Transportation Authority .................... 71 Ridership Growth and the loss of the Vehicle Levy: 1999 to the present................................ 76 Capital Project Problems and Governance Reforms........................................................................ 82 Chapter 4: Findings and Recommendations.................................................................................................... 88 Findings................................................................................................................................................................. 88 Recommendations............................................................................................................................................. 93 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 96 Interview Schedule .................................................................................................................................................. 97 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................. 98 Appendix...................................................................................................................................................................105 4 List of Exhibits Exhibit 1: Top Ten North American Census Metropolitan Areas for transit use for the journey to work, 2006/2009.............................................................................................................................10 Exhibit 2: Population change in the Toronto area, 1941-1949 ......................................................26 Exhibit 3: Population Distribution in the Toronto Metropolitan Area, 1948.................................26 Exhibit 4: Toronto Transportation Statistics, 1955-1963...............................................................30 Exhibit 5: TTC Revenues and Expenses, 1962-1970.....................................................................35 Exhibit 6: TTC Ridership, 1960-1970............................................................................................37 Exhibit 7: Population Growth in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).........................38 Exhibit 8: Metropolitan Toronto Planning Jurisdiction and Urbanization, 1969...........................39 Exhibit 9: TTC Operating Statistics, 1971-1986............................................................................41 Exhibit 10: TTC Revenues versus Labor Costs, 1971-1975..........................................................44 Exhibit 11: Provincial Public Transit Operating Subsidy, 1976 ....................................................45 Exhibit 12: The Spadina Subway Line along the Partially build Spadina Expressway median. ...48 Exhibit 13: St. Clair West Station Intermodal Transfers ...............................................................50 Exhibit 14: Change in TTC Vehicle Fleet, 1971-1990 ..................................................................51 Exhibit 15: The Greater Toronto Area Regional Municipalities and Urbanized Area, late 1980s (clockwise, Halton, Peel, York and Durham surround Metropolitan Toronto) .............................53 Exhibit 16: Vehicles and Person Trips Crossing Metro Boundary, 7:00AM to 7:00PM, Two Way Totals, 1975-1977...........................................................................................................................54 Exhibit 17: Transit Ridership and Population Change in the Greater Toronto Area, 1981-1985/6 ........................................................................................................................................................54 Exhibit 18: TTC Ridership and Toronto Employment, 1998-2011 ...............................................56 Exhibit 19: TTC Operating and Financial Statistics, 1990-1996 ...................................................57