jje1000
Senior Member
If we can't get a two stop subway that's obviously sufficient for Scarborough, you lefties are getting nuthin' at all! Truly an indication of Ford's governing powers.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/18/ford-vows-to-scuttle-lrts
Ford vows to scuttle LRTs
BY IAN ROBERTSON, TORONTO SUN
FIRST POSTED: SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012 05:21 PM EDT | UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012 05:29 PM EDT
No subway expansion, no LRT!
That was Mayor Rob Ford’s vow Sunday — three days before city council is to vote on choosing between building more below-ground public transit or street-level systems.
Predicting a “close” vote Wednesday, Ford said he would prevent Light Rapid Transit above-ground lines if council rejects what he wants — constructing an extension of the Sheppard subway.
But he announced “if we don’t get the subway ... we’re not going to waste people’s money and build an LRT.”
Speaking on his weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show, the civic leader warned that if city council went ahead with LRTs, Scarborough passengers would face “another St. Clair disaster.”
Some of his east-end subway guests on the show, plus the majority of callers, said they would rather stick with streetcars or buses than new LRT lines.
Citing the over-budget, centre-road St. Clair Ave. LRT line, a caller named Norm said “it’s been a complete mess,” with traffic snarls and “plenty of empty stores.”
Subways Are for Everyone (SAFE) guest Li Chiu said Scarborough residents have “been waiting 30 years for subways.”
Chiu said TTC chairman Karen Stintz “declined our invitation” to a 7 p.m. Monday public information meeting at Scarborough Civic Centre.
Ford urged listeners to attend, learn about LRT “misinformation,” and press councillors to back the subway plan.
Ford said “we have $1 billion” to extend Sheppard’s subway system east for two or three stations, adding “we could get the shovel in the ground.”
Once the city shows it can start the long-delayed project, he and Councillor Paul Ainslie, his co-host, predicted investors would help bankroll more subway construction by developing commercial and residential infrastructure along the routes.
A council-appointed expert panel recommended on Friday that city council go ahead with an LRT system.
Former city councillor and talkshow guest Dr. Gordon Chong, said the appointees were deliberately chosen by councillors who wanted light-rail supporters.
“To say it wasn’t pre-ordained is stretching people’s beliefs,” Chong said.
He said last week that other members were blocking the release of a pro-subway report.
“I’m hoping saner minds will prevail” at the vote, Chong said. “Underground with a subway is the cost-effective way for public transit.”
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/18/ford-vows-to-scuttle-lrts
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