Toronto city staff are asking for permission to take a closer look at using tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway as a way to help support the city’s infrastructure.
In a report released on Monday, several city staff members asked for city council’s approval to conduct “detailed study” of the financial and logistical impact of implementing tolls on the highways.
The money, they say, would help pay for infrastructure maintenance and upgrades for the next 30 years and reduce travel times.
Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong said the city would like to "do a bit of deeper dive" to understand all consequences and costs, as well as the revenues associated with tolling.
The report said the tolls would either be distance-based or would involve a flat fee.
If the city wants to raise $5.7 billion over the next three decades, it would have to charge motorists 10 cents per kilometre on the highways, the report said. The flat fee would be $1.25 per vehicle. Trucks and heavy vehicle would have to pay twice as much in either case.
These estimates are lower than tolls on such highways as the 407, which charges anywhere between 20 and 35 cents per kilometre.
But some drivers are still about upset about the idea of more tolls in the city.
“We pay enough just to use these roads on our taxes and everything else,” said one driver. “Why should we pay toll routes to get to work?”
Even if the city does decide to turn the Gardiner and the DVP into toll routes, it could be years before the fees are implemented.
“We have to make the decision of whether we want tolls to begin with before we can talk about when they come in,” Minnan-Wong said.
The report will be presented at Mayor John Tory’s executive committee meeting next Monday.
With a report from Colin D’Mello
