Suburbs on Track

September 2016

Aligning urban development with new rapid transit infrastructure in the GTA region to achieve healthy, sustainable communities.

Summary

The province of Ontario is investing over $32 billion in new subways, light rail, rapid busways and regional express rail over the next 10 to 15 years outside of downtown Toronto. These suburbs and regional municipalities have an opportunity to realize the benefits of transit-oriented communities that are walkable and safe, support local businesses, generate ridership to pay for transit operations and provide more mobility choices and affordable housing options.

Toronto’s suburbs and regional municipalities have an opportunity to “get on track” and align transit-oriented development with the over-$32 billion in rapid transit infrastructure being delivered over the next 15 years.

Suburbs on Track was produced in collaboration with the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.

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Acknowledgments

Written and prepared by Cherise Burda, Mike Collins-Williams and Alicia Kingdon.

The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their contribution to and/or review of this publication: Dominic Ali, Marika Franko, Kelly Graham, Richard Joy, Stephen Knight, Jason Thorne, Joe Vaccaro.

“One highlight of the report is the need to build a stronger and more diverse “missing middle” housing supply in urban and suburban centres. While high-rise and low-density residential forms of development represent the bulk of the housing stock, the report emphasizes the importance of building more gentle density ... [that] can support transit in new and established suburban communities.”

Novae Res UrbisSeptember 2016