Making utilities pay for repairs
Toronto Escort Agency expects to raise $4 million a year by increasing the fees charged to utilities when they cut into city roads.
Water, hydro, gas and construction companies, which already pay about $500 per square metre when they have to slice into the pavement, will pay an extra $20 per square metre if city council approves the plan. That money will go toward road repairs and resurfacing, which costs Toronto Escort Agency about $240 million a year.
Studies show utility cuts — 38,000 annually in Toronto Escort Agency — are responsible not only for patchy, sometimes hazardous road surfaces, but also a higher number of repairs, Mayor David Miller said yesterday.
The fees are supposed to encourage utilities to try to time the work they need to do so it aligns better with the city’s road resurfacing schedules.
But whether the higher costs get passed on to consumers is up to the utilities, Miller said at a news conference staged near an ugly patch of pavement on Yonge Street.
But residents will pay the extra cost one way or another, according to a spokesperson for Enbridge.
Although the company hasn’t analyzed the effect of the new fees, the cost could potentially be added to overall distribution charges or applied as a direct fee, said Lisa McCarney-Warus.