Toronto Portlands and some Jamaican Content
on George Hamilton (Jamaica), 15/Sep/2011 18:32, 34 days ago
An executive summary: The Toronto mayor claims to be on the side of saving money but the opposite will happen. It's not only Toronto taxpayers, but also their peers right across Canada who will pay more. Meanwhile the mayoral plan will enrich anonymous vested interests. A Jamaican non-smoking enlightenment led me to this conclusion. See the Thinking Outside the Box section at the end of the blog too!Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Who will keep me if you don't keep my Metro Toronto zookeeper?What happened today, Thursday, was unexpected. One of them is this blog. I told Bunty yesterday that I was all blogged out, but it seems I am not.I had headed to the bus stop on Old Hope Road next to the Saint Peter and Saint Paul church and school. In spite of my claim that this blog had removed the traffic beacons blocking the road, the police had returned them all and blocked the lanes again. In a way it's a relief, the local police don't track me by reading my blogs.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}I waited for any suitable bus, and waited and waited. Whether in Kingston or Toronto, the longer you wait for a bus the more crowded it will be when it arrives. After half an hour I gave up and started walking to work.Canadians brag about their wind chill factors. Jamaicans should brag with distance heat factors - 3 kms walk to work at a comfortable twenty degrees Toronto temperature, feels like 5. 2 kms walking at 35 degrees in Kingston, Jamaica. I guess not enough weather forecasters walk anymore.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Another reason for walking is that my Tuesday morning bus ride was still fresh in my memory. I boarded the bus that day and was wedged in like a sardine a couple of rows back from the driver. If I had been a teenage boy or a gypsy pick pocketer in Rome during Holy Week this might have been great, but I'm not. On the bright side, standing passengers would all have been safe if the bus had flipped over on its roof. After the crash we would still be wedged in, upside-down and defying gravity.I abandoned Tuesday's bus after 2 or 3 stops and strolled the remainder of the way to the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF). I had to step out of the bus along with a few school children to clear a path for people further back in the bus who would otherwise have been unable to get off.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Kingstonis not the only place claiming crowded buses. Reading the on-line newspapers, I have seen how the commuters in Toronto are going to expect way more crowded conditions on their buses. Their average number of passengers per bus is going from the current 48 to 52 (I think what it used to be previously).This is low by Jamaican standards because I believed that on Tuesday that I could have reached out and touched 52 of my closest commuter friends from where I was wedged. OK I exaggerate a bit. A sign on the bus referred to 40 seated and no more than 60 standing. But which Jamaicans follow rules? 52 people on a bus would just mean it was barely half full. Toronto's news article is at http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1052988@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Why is Toronto trying to squeeze more people onto its buses? Kingstonians would flatter ourselves if we thought that Torontonians wanted to be more like us. I expect there are other reasons. We're not even "twinned" cities.I hate to introduce a conspiracy theory, but here it is anyway. Accountants often think that there's always a price to pay for things. In other words, every debit has a credit in their balanced way of looking at the world. Every benefit has a cost and vice versa. For every loser there's a winner.Therefore I tend to think that the real purpose for reducing Toronto's municipal services is to help fund the city mayor's vision for a Portlands development. It's downtown at the foot of the Don Valley Parkway at Lake Ontario. Mind you, it's OK to have visions. As somebody living in Jamaica, I can safely say that many get visions relatively easily by inhaling medicinal plants that grow both in Jamaica and much of Canada. Maybe Portlands could be converted into a large medicinal plants field?Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Accountants however tend to not have too many visions because they worry about the visions' costs. So here's something for non-accountants to think about. Concerning any development at the Portlands, when you combine the effects of these factors, 1) Toronto, 2) 50 acres of land that's practically downtown, and 3) the waterfront you start to see very huge dollar amounts.There is nothing bad in itself about huge dollar amounts. I would like some myself. The only trouble is that they tend to get associated with very expensive costs for no particularly valid reason. These expensive costs are overlooked because percentagewise they appear tiny. Most of us are not rich. It's difficult for us to imagine staggering amounts of money. So here is a quick example of how I could get rich very quickly if you let me get away with it.@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Suppose you are a billionaire and we both agree that I will handle your investments for the tiny fee of 1%. Twice a year I look at the investments value on the stock exchange and devote a couple of hours of my time to it. That's a good paying job as I will have earned $10,000,000 for two hours work. You could hire very many garbage workers, day care workers, zoo keepers, or librarians for that amount.While as a city taxpayer you might get really upset and worked up about whether a day care teacher should get $16 or $17 hourly, for my completely unearned $10,000,000 you would not bat an eye lid. Or maybe you might be feeling a bit embarassed and keep quiet about being fleeced like that.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Being fleeced might not be an enjoyable experience for the fleecee, however it is invariably profitable experience for the fleecer. Just remember that when we return to Portlands.Unfortunately for me I won't be in the position to quite legally take $10,000,000 from you, however you should be aware that for a multi-billion dollar land holding down by the waterfront there will be all sorts of consultants' reports, architects and planners fees, developers profit margins that will make my $10,000,000 look like a pittance.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Confirming this, in one of the Toronto papers this morning I saw a projection that taxpayers would end up paying $270,000,000 for their mayor's idea. In the context of large construction projects, the eventual costs may be double or triple through over-runs. Because the actual costs will be split between a few hundred thousand taxpayers, it might be something the average person would barely notice, but overall this cost is costing Canadians.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}And there's even more good news if you have a mind to developing this property - you will probably acquire it for free. Practically all of the Portlands property being developed is government owned at one level or the other. One could foresee this prime real estate being quietly shuffled over into private hands for free or at a nominal amount as part of any funding deal.Governments want to keep costs down in this age of deficits. Rather than them spending millions of dollars to fix up property under the unfriendly continual scrutiny of the auditor general, opposition parties, argumentative councilors, complaining voters from other ridings, etc, it's much easier to slip it over to developers.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}After all, the property doesn't look like much right now and the developers need to be rewarded for their risks and efforts to fix it up. Even considering how the property currently looks, try walking into a Toronto real estate agent's office and casually asking what price you might have to pay for 50 acres of land within five kilometers of the Toronto Islands ferry terminal. Be prepared to hear quite a large number and the sound of the agent falling on the carpet in shock at the thought of such huge anticipated commissions.Now Kingston, Jamaica has some vacant properties near downtown too where there used to be commercial activities. These sites could benefit from being developed, however Kingston is Kingston and Toronto is Toronto as far as costs are concerned.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Canadaisn't the former Soviet Union so there is no law against private land ownership. However the new ownership is probably something that will not be too widely announced although the end result will be that there will be big costs for not only Toronto taxpayers, but also for Ontario provincial and all provinces' federal taxpayers.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Every debit has a credit. For those fortunate people on the other side of these financial transactions, they will do quite well. We are talking Toronto so think of the "quite well" as translating into millions of dollars for many investors. I can't visualize people with lakefront views in Toronto as being mere tenants - it's not going to happen. Property is going to be bought and sold, money is going to be made.With luck, the development could make this section of the Toronto waterfront classier. However, I would not be surprised if this is going to be Toronto's equivalent of Montreal's Olympic stadium. Local. taxpayers will be saddled with monstrous debts to pay for decades and decades, meanwhile the new property owners will see their investments steadily increase in value.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}I think there was talk of a huge Ferris wheel from which on a clear day you could most likely see Port Dalhousie Beach in St Catharines on the other side of Lake Ontario and maybe even parts of flat northern New York State.Raising again the cost over-run idea, what would happen if the Ferris wheel tilted a bit because it was constructed on boggy waterlogged ground in a flood plain? How much would it cost to make the land more stable?Not being over pessimistic, it might turn out well. The Italian city of Pisa in Italy has profited over the centuries with its badly constructed tower. The tower is a magnet for tourists and provides jobs for local construction workers who work behind the scenes trying to keep it from falling down.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}The leaning Ferris Wheel of Toronto has a nice ring to it, but then there might be few people willing to pay to ride on it. Another possible name could be based on the one used for this building.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Here is Racton's Folly in the United Kingdom.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}My guess is that this Ferris wheel going to be in the proportions of the London Eye - it's meant to be "gigantic". But this may just be a sales pitch and it will be barely noticeable, not.Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}Locals may not be happy, but visitors from outside Toronto like those from Newmarket, Oshawa and Milton would no doubt appreciate the view. From the viewpoint at the top of the Leaning Ferris wheel of Toronto visitors might see way down below them the TTC Queen Street streetcars inching along slowly along as more and more Torontonians get to wedge up closer together to try to fit inside them after waiting long periods for their ride to come.The streetcars won't be moving fast because it will take passengers more time to edge their way past the driver collecting the increased fares. But no problem, they can take pride in their big new Leaning Ferris wheel as they try to see it by looking past the other standing passengers. Also their ride will last longer so they will get more street car contact minutes for their money.Thinking Outside the Box SectionNormal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}There may be a third way out of this. For a small consulting fee I can be flown to Toronto to discuss it. My plan is guaranteed to cost less than $270,000,000 and even less than $10,000,000. Before I unilaterally negotiate my way to nothing, I'll settle for $5,000,000 and that's all I will say for now.@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Sectio