City $18B short in plan to repair infrastructure over next decade, but progress made, staff say

Officials say Toronto is making progress in keeping its infrastructure in good working order, but the city still needs to secure $18 billion in additional funds over the next 10 years to ensure its assets are in a state of good repair.

On Tuesday, city staff released Toronto's 2025 corporate asset management plan that documents the state of the city's infrastructure.

City staff said the $18-billion spending shortfall is the city's current "infrastructure renewal gap," which the city defines as the difference between what is required to maintain desired levels of service and what is allocated in its 10-year capital plan from 2025 to 2034.

The money is needed to maintain the city's transit system, social housing, roads and facilities.

City staff told reporters that the $18 billion is an $8-billion decrease from the infrastructure renewal gap reported by the city a year ago.

Last year, city staff reported that Toronto's corporate asset management plan had a $26-billion gap in funding required to ensure its assets did not degrade to the point of impacting current service levels over the next decade.

Mayor Olivia Chow said infrastructure is important to the city and it's essential to keep it maintained.

"For almost a decade, our infrastructure deteriorated. Whether it's roads, parks, community centres, libraries, subways, tracks, signals, streetcars, buses — it's all been deteriorating and that stops now," Chow told reporters.

"This continued deterioration was caused by not fixing what needs to be done to the tune of $26 billion. That's how far we fell behind in fixing our city over the last decade," she said.

"We need our roads, water lines, TTC tracks to be safe and reliable for Torontonians. We also in these difficult economic times need to build, build, build, build so that we can create jobs and stimulate the economy."

Stephen Conforti, the city's treasurer and chief financial officer, said the city has made strides in prioritizing infrastructure renewal through its capital program in the past year.

"The City has taken significant actions since that time to prioritize and increase investments in infrastructure renewal, which has added importance, especially when you consider that a significant portion of the city's assets were actually built in the 1960s and 70s and either coming to or approaching the end of their useful life," Conforti said.

"Building and maintaining infrastructure is a challenge for municipalities across the country," he added.

"Despite these challenges, the city has leveraged the tools available to us and is now reporting a significant reduction in our infrastructure renewal gap."