08-29-2016, 01:09 PM
Quote:From the article: Larry Masseo is on the board of directors for the Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association: “I suppose I would look at it as a broader perspective. You could say that you don’t use parks, or I don’t use schools, why should I pay?” he said.“It is half my taxes right there. I think from a broader policy perspective, if the transit cost is spread out over everybody, everyone in the township still has access to use that transit should they need to, whether they are visiting the city, or one of the many who live in the townships, and work in the city, so it will impact them from that perspective.”
According to the article, it isn't new taxes that are being considered but rather boosting the development charge for new construction. It may be the thin edge of the wedge towards an amalgamated transit/transportation fee that is Region wide (along the lines of the same way that everyone in the Region pays for policing or the airport).
Conveniently, charging development charges allows politicians to have their cake and eat it too. No, the existing taxpayers of the Townships (assuming that they don't move into a new build), will not be paying for the LRT; but Yes, the Townships will be paying for the LRT in an indirect way.
The transit discussion is far from over as the concept of funding transit out to outlying areas. Maybe, once the LRT is running, and once the Region has rationalized the existing KWC GRT bus routes, then the Region can begin to look in earnest at connections to the outlying areas. I'm sure that a two-way St. Jacobs Market-Heidelberg-St. Clements-Hawkesville-Wallenstein-Elmira-St. Jacobs loop would be quite welcome for people living in Wellesley and Woolwich.