  Who will champion the concrete? Which of our mayoral candidates will step up to the task? Which one of our mayoral candidates will stop talking about intangible ideals like "integrity" and "cost cutting" and actually examine how City services are provided to citizens? This City has ageing infrastructure. There are pipes and sewers under your feet that are a hundred years old. There are light standards that are crumbling. There are TTC tracks so warped that streetcars crawl through sections to avoid being derailed. Which of our mayoral candidates will address these issues? Here's John Tory: Decline of Toronto Im running for mayor of Toronto because I am sad and angry about the physical decline in our city. I believe this decline is caused, in part, by a dysfunctional system of government at all levels. We need new arrangements, new action and new leadership if Canadas cities are to remain our countrys engine of growth. City Infrastructure "If people who need it can't find affordable housing, if adequate public transit isn't available, or if sewer and water systems and other vital infrastructure are allowed to crumble, it will ultimately lead to a breakdown of our cities.
" He's angry (and sad) about the physical decline of our city. He doesn't happen to mention how this physical decline will be rectified. He doesn't mention how he will replace pipes and tracks that are still in use even though they are long past their life expectancy. Here's Tom Jakobek on why the Waterfront initiative hasn't happened: "Tom Jakobek knows why nothing has happened. The reason isnt because of the environmental difficulties with the soil, or because there isnt enough infrastructure for water and sewage all problems nonetheless.
The problem is too many independent government agencies or levels of government involved in the ownership of the waterfront lands. Think about it: 8 different Boards of Directors, 8 different administrations and 8 different official plans. " I should be clear here. Im not talking about new infrastructure Im talking about existing, crumbling, infrastructure that is at the end of its life. Key components for delivering water to your home and light to your street, the replacement of which is often viewed as an extra cost.
A City council, by its very nature, is short sited. Its a group of men and women who meet together for 3 years at most. Contrast the life of a City council with the life of an iron pipe underground. While new councils come and go, and talk about tourism and conferences and major public attractions, that iron pipe continues to corrode and eventually breaks down. Whose fault is it that it wasnt replaced? Is it the current councils responsibility? Or is it the responsibility of the council who put that pipe in the ground 75 years ago?
Or is it, as is often the case, the next councils responsibility? Out of sight and out of mind in this case contains frightening possibilities and very real financial burdens. Heres David Miller on TTC infrastructure: In my Toronto, the TTC will once again become a transit system we can take pride in. Ridership will increase because the system will reflect user needs. All three levels of government will once again participate in a sustainable funding model that achieves a balance between fare box revenues and government subsidies. We will invest in infrastructure improvements in the form of subways and bus ways. System improvements and state-of-the-art technological applications will reduce the cost per rider. Like Tory, Miller looks to the future, but they both look to the future in terms of Capital improvements. Making things new and better. But the investment in infrastructure in this case refers to new busses and trains, with little mention of the concrete and metal that those buses and trains operate on. If Im being curmudgeonly and not seeing the big picture or the vision then I apologize. Like any citizen I want an amazing waterfront that I can bring my children to, I want a safe Toronto, and I want pretty trees to look at.
But I need water, I need to get to work every day in the subway, I need my pee to go away when I flush the toilet. Councils have put off major repairs and component replacements for years and years. This City is coming to a crisis point and if none of the leadership candidates will recognize that, then we will be heading into serious financial and operational trouble. We need an aggressive program of infrastructure management. One that ensures that we have the money to monitor and replace sewers and tracks as they reach the end of their life and not simply rushing to put out fires when things are out of control and falling apart. Not next council, this council. You must ask your mayoral candidates to address these issues. 
