Feature

Rapid Transit is the Catalyst to Kick-start the Economy

For over two years now the Connect the Corridor coalition has been hard at work in trying to make fast, frequent twoway all day GO service along the Kitchener line a reality. The steady progress made to date has been possible only through the tight collaboration between the region’s large employers, local leaders, chambers of commerce, boards of trade, universities and average citizens who stand united in bringing the corridor closer together and sharing the economic benefits that follow.

Then of course the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. From how we work, to how our kids learn, to how we interact (or don’t) with one another. And though so many of us have had to adjust to this new reality the work for a better, postpandemic, future has continued on because we know that after so much time apart, investments in bringing the people and businesses across the Innovation Corridor closer together through rapid transit links is the catalyst we need both for the economy we want, and to kick start the economy we already have.

The Innovation Corridor is home to major employers like Manulife, Sun Life, Toronto Pearson Airport and Google who, even now, still need to attract talent beyond their borders and get them to and from their jobs safely.

The six major universities that line the Innovation Corridor (Toronto, York, Ryerson, Guelph, WLU, UW) all thrive on in class learning. Robotics, medicine, advanced research and engineering are just some of the academic disciplines that require fast-frequent transit to facilitate the kinds of hands-on learning they demand.

COVID-19 also hasn’t stopped the explosive population growth happening in Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Brampton, and the GTHA. Ontario’s own projections show that close to 10.2 million people will call the GTA home by 2046 and let’s face it, we could also be facing a post-COVID population boom – a happy consequence of the lockdowns experienced by many families across the Province. Our current infrastructure just isn’t built to handle that type of demand in the long term.

And in the immediate, the pent up demand for getting back to normal coupled with the 401 corridor being already bumper-to-bumper pre-pandemic means an astronomical environmental and economic cost if we all jump back in to our cars to resume even a fraction of in person meetings, or to visit a cherished friend. Pre-pandemic demand along the Kitchener corridor was already high. Average weekday daily rail boardings were up by approximately 23% since 2015; and Sun Life alone reported 50,000 employee trips between their offices in Toronto and Waterloo over a 7 month period; so, if you build it… they will come.

We continue our advocacy, even during this unprecedented time, because we know that fast, frequent two-way all day GO service along the Innovation Corridor, could be the most important investment this province and country can make; delivering $17.5 billion in direct annual GDP, $1 Billion in construction and procurement over 5 years and more than 170,000 high-quality jobs by 2025.

Recent announcements by Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and the Government of Ontario point to good progress in addressing some of today’s challenges by committing to building for tomorrow. But we can’t be shy of taking the next tangible step and we will remain steadfast in bringing this message to leaders across the province as the Ontario government prepares for a spring budget.

This is a time to accelerate our progress as our economic recovery will depend on a thriving, connected, Innovation Corridor — after months of being apart and with hope on the horizon, investing in bringing us closer together is key to our collective recovery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris Ball

Chris Ball is the strategic communications lead for Connect the Corridor; a coalition of job creators, universities and major employers along the Innovation Corridor, advocating for fast, frequent, two-way all day rail service and all its economic benefits for this vital economic zone.