TTC Transit City still a go

November 10, 2010

Apparently, the Transit City plan is still on.

The announcement was grand.  Only three years ago the Provincial Government announced full funding for over 74 km of Light Rail Transit tracks.

Only three years later, $4 billion dollars were cut from the project’s funding. 

After a feeble “Save Transit City” ad campaign, (the website of which doesn’t extend far past the home page), it seems all talk about the project has stopped. 

Now with each mayoral candidate with his or her own agenda, it seems fair to wonder what will happen to a project already started by the current mayor.

“This was really David Miller’s initiative, and if Rob Ford becomes mayor the plan will probably be cancelled,” says Ron Ford’s Director of Communications, Adrianne Barta.

The TTC, however, says Transit City is going according to plan, but at a slower pace.

Director of Communications for the TTC, Brad Ross, says Transit City is moving forward. 

“We’re building East from Eglinton, we have a boring machine, we are getting $5 billion in funding over five years…  We have funding from the province, we are moving forward.”

Ross notes the project has slowed down because of funding.  Significant funding cuts pushed the completion date about three years back. 

The original date of completion for the line that would meet Humber College, for instance, is only to be completed in 2015, as opposed to the original 2013 deadline.

The Eglinton East line started construction in 2010, and is meant to start the first phase of service in 2016. 

According to the Save Transit City campaign, however, even the Eglinton line is at risk.

Aside from the Sheppard East line, the Eglinton line is the only one that is coming close to the first stages of construction. 

However, if elected, Rob Ford plans to scrap any work done on the Sheppard LRT line and replace it with subways. 

He also wants to get rid of streetcars and replace them with buses, a promise that was met with much criticism from Torontonians -- and it doesn’t stop there.

"Very simply, streetcars are the urban workhorses of dense cities all over the world. Toronto was very fortunate. We almost got rid of them in the early 1970s,” says Paul Bedford, Toronto’s former chief planner.

“No one I've met doesn't like riding streetcars - especially in their own right of ways. But the main thing is their carrying capacity. If you add up the number of people who use the King, Queen, Spadina and probably College streetcars - just four routes - that equals more than the number of people who ride the entire GTA GO system every day. Just on four streetcar routes. They're out of their minds to get rid of that."

But at least for now the TTC stands strong saying it is funded by the province and has no intention of stopping the plans already in action.

“Even with a new mayor we plan to carry on,” says Ross.