Moving our Region: Funding Transportation for our Future

During 2011 and 2012, the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) hosted a speakers’ series called Moving our Region on funding regional transportation. The series, supported by Metrolinx, brought together noted transportation policy-makers, practitioners, and academics from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to discuss issues in transportation planning and funding that will profoundly influence the future growth and prosperity of the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA).

This report distills the key lessons from the series:

• The Economic Imperative: Efficient transportation systems are an economic imperative for global city-regions.
• Consumer-Oriented Services: Transportation systems that focus on end users and offer seamless, technology-enabled services are essential for city-regions to compete globally.
• Regional Coordination: Transportation systems that cross municipal boundaries need accountable and representative regional governance mechanisms and planning processes.
• Dedicated Revenue Sources: Stable, dedicated revenue sources, applied regionally, are critical to support long-term investment.
• Political Leadership and Civic Mobilization: Successful investment campaigns have engaged the public and regional stakeholders around shared challenges, recognized local concerns and shaped a community-wide vision.
• Public Appetite for New Taxes: Although taxes are never popular, revenue sources dedicated to improving mobility and reducing travel times can generate public support.