Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced that she will not back Toronto’s request to add tolls to the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.
Wynne is expected to announce Friday that the provincial government will not back Toronto’s plans to impose tolls on the two main routes into the downtown core.
Wynne’s decision not to back the toll options is due in large part to the lack of lack of transit options and alternatives suburban drivers have to get into and out of the downtown core.
“The compelling voices that I’m hearing in the province right now are people who are struggling to pay their bills,” Wynne said at the press conference Friday.
The plan to toll both highways was part of Mayor John Tory’s strategy to raise funding for Toronto’s growing transit, child care and housing needs.
Toronto won’t be left high and dry though, the province is doubling their gas tax revenue payouts to municipalities. Toronto’s share of the tax will be about $170 million, which is what city staff estimated tolls would earn each year. Brampton can also expect a cash infusion from gas tax payouts.
Now Brampton commuters that drive into the city will be able to breathe easier, with no threat of added expenses when trying to get to downtown Toronto for work and leisure activities.
