Transit should be the top concern for Toronto mayoral candidates, says a new report from a University of Toronto think-tank.

The report points out that Toronto, under Mayor Rob Ford’s leadership, has been filled with “dysfunction” and that “transportation planning, driven by political agendas rather than evidence, is in shambles.”

The paper, titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Mostly)” and released Monday night by the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, profiles election campaigns in six of Ontario’s biggest cities: Hamilton, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor.

The report analyzes economic, demographic and fiscal conditions in each city, and the major challenges that candidates should be addressing. It takes into account fiscal measures such as property taxes, showing voters in Mississauga are paying about $3,240 annually — the highest of the six cities. In Toronto, property taxes average roughly $2,633 a year.

With the election nearing, the paper says the focus many Toronto candidates have on large and sweeping transit lines “partly misses the big picture,” because the city can barely manage to keep transit, sewers and housing in “a state of good repair.”

“The city does not have the financial capacity to tackle its state-of-good-repair backlog, much less to fund major new investments to accommodate continued growth,” the paper warns. “It’s unlikely that the provincial or federal governments will come to the rescue with the large infusions of cash that is needed.”

Candidates have been addressing transportation, with Olivia Chow supporting increased busing, Doug Ford calling for a Yonge relief line and Finch subway, and John Tory touting his SmartTrack rail plan, including 22 new stops and four interchanges connecting to the subway.

In addition to Toronto, the report highlights transit as a concern for Hamilton, Ottawa and Mississauga, noting that the province has pledged $29 billion for transportation infrastructure across Ontario, but local solutions to transit issues “seem elusive.”

Problems with Toronto’s income sharing, its long wait lists for social housing and its governance structure are also raised in the paper.

To address these issues and stop council from getting “bogged down by the volume of items on its agenda,” the report recommends delegating more responsibilities to smaller community councils and other local decision-making bodies, and finding ways to better integrate social assistance, employment and human services.

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