I note that #DougFord briefly toyed with the idea of re-purchasing the 407 but then fell silent on the subject.

Undoubtedly it would be cheaper to expropriate the 407 and revert the tolling structure to the way it was meant to be, but instead he wants to build yet another tunnel.

One might conclude he was invested in construction and tunnelling firms given his penchant for dreaming up tunnel projects for every transportation challenge.

7/7

In 1999 Mike Harris leased the 407ETR for 99 years (functionally sold) to a private consortium. He used the proceeds to fix a hole in the government’s finances so he could claim he was a good financial manager.

The new owners were not interested in trucks bypassing Toronto, they only wanted profits, and quickly revamped the toll structure to favour cars since they occupied less road space and created less maintenance causing wear and tear.

6/7

Have you ever noticed how the 407 is mostly paved with concrete rather than asphalt? That is because concrete lasts longer under heavy loads, such as trucking.

However, the fate of the expressway would veer in a completely different direction from the plans with the election of the Harris “Common Sense Revolution™” Conservatives.

5/7

The idea was that the toll for trucks would be about the same as the cost of a truck sitting in traffic on the 401. Therefore shipping times would be reduced but costs should be the same, and there is a guaranteed revenue stream. Cars would be allowed on the highway but the thinking was many motorists would favour the 401 since there were lower costs associated with that route.

4/7

Under the Rae NDP administration, governing during a recession, the decision was made to make the highway a toll road, and that brought with it an opportunity. The 407 route was mostly along green fields and there was a need for more serviced land near expressways for industry.

The 407 wasn’t just going to be a bypass for the 401, it would be a truck bypass freeing up room on the 401 where it would better serve people.

3/7

The 407 can be traced back to plans during the 1950’s highway building frenzy, but by the late 1980’s the need for a #Toronto bypass had become apparent and it was greenlit by the Peterson Liberal admin.

Just-In-Time trucking was taking off and the 401 had become extremely congested because of increasing numbers of big rigs, many of which originated from the US Border and were passing through the city to destinations like Montreal and beyond.

2/7

A reminder that we are celebrating Cinco de Mayo tonight in our unique fashion: by exchanging stickers! Free and open hardware demos also, we hope.

Victory Cafe, 440 Bloor St. W., 6 PM, stickers (wait, you knew that part already). #Toronto #tech #pizza #cincodemayo https://lu.ma/z0p9v3vn