hw621
Senior Member
Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat is making accelerating the relief line subway the central plank of her transit platform, and will not oppose the construction of a controversial three-stop Scarborough subway extension if she is elected this fall.
Keesmaat unveiled her transportation platform to a room full of reporters Thursday morning at a downtown YWCA, promising to deliver “a real plan for transit” and end what she described as years of “chaos” caused by the city basing policy on candidates’ platforms drawn up “on the back of a napkin in order to get elected.”
A map released by Jennifer Keesmaat showcasing her transit plan. (Jennifer Keesmaat / Twitter)
Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat says that under her plan the relief subway line would be finished by 2028, three years ahead of the current 2031 projected deadline. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star file photo)
“This is a network plan that is designed to deliver excellent transit over the long term for residents of the city of Toronto,” she said, claiming her proposals were backed by experts.
She herself served as Toronto’s chief planner for five years before stepping down last September.
Keesmaat, who is considered Mayor John Tory’s most serious challenger in the October 22 election, pledged her first priority would be to build the relief line. The subway is estimated to cost at least $6.8-billion and would connect the eastern end of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to downtown. She promised to start construction on the project by 2020 and finish it by 2028, three years ahead of the current 2031 projected deadline.
Her second priority would be to make permanent the King St. streetcar pilot project.
Her third would be “unsnarling” the planning “mess” in Scarborough.
Noting that Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford has committed to building a three-stop subway extension to Scarborough, she said that project should go ahead, while the city pursues an LRT line in the eastern suburb that would connect the Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) subway to Malvern.
The city is currently planning a one-stop subway extension to the Scarborough Town Centre, the cost of which is estimated to be at least $3.35 billion. By some estimates adding two more stops could add roughly $1 billion to the project, and critics say the extension would be an extensive white elephant.
“I think the province is going to do it no matter what, I think that’s very clear,” Keesmaat said when asked whether she believes a three-stop extension represents sound transit planning.
Keesmaat unveiled her transportation platform to a room full of reporters Thursday morning at a downtown YWCA, promising to deliver “a real plan for transit” and end what she described as years of “chaos” caused by the city basing policy on candidates’ platforms drawn up “on the back of a napkin in order to get elected.”
![_4_map.jpg](https://images.thestar.com/QeIZ4eo_sZEtyrKPryx8SOrfCq8=/1086x611/smart/filters:cb(1535644875453)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/toronto-election/2018/08/30/mayoral-challenger-jennifer-keesmaat-pitches-citywide-network-transit-plan/_4_map.jpg)
A map released by Jennifer Keesmaat showcasing her transit plan. (Jennifer Keesmaat / Twitter)
![_2_jennifer_keesmaat_2.jpg](https://images.thestar.com/r_gv4R2hVRDzUPESMNfQShN07i0=/1086x724/smart/filters:cb(1535645199898)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/toronto-election/2018/08/30/mayoral-challenger-jennifer-keesmaat-pitches-citywide-network-transit-plan/_2_jennifer_keesmaat_2.jpg)
Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat says that under her plan the relief subway line would be finished by 2028, three years ahead of the current 2031 projected deadline. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star file photo)
“This is a network plan that is designed to deliver excellent transit over the long term for residents of the city of Toronto,” she said, claiming her proposals were backed by experts.
She herself served as Toronto’s chief planner for five years before stepping down last September.
Keesmaat, who is considered Mayor John Tory’s most serious challenger in the October 22 election, pledged her first priority would be to build the relief line. The subway is estimated to cost at least $6.8-billion and would connect the eastern end of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to downtown. She promised to start construction on the project by 2020 and finish it by 2028, three years ahead of the current 2031 projected deadline.
Her second priority would be to make permanent the King St. streetcar pilot project.
Her third would be “unsnarling” the planning “mess” in Scarborough.
Noting that Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford has committed to building a three-stop subway extension to Scarborough, she said that project should go ahead, while the city pursues an LRT line in the eastern suburb that would connect the Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) subway to Malvern.
The city is currently planning a one-stop subway extension to the Scarborough Town Centre, the cost of which is estimated to be at least $3.35 billion. By some estimates adding two more stops could add roughly $1 billion to the project, and critics say the extension would be an extensive white elephant.
“I think the province is going to do it no matter what, I think that’s very clear,” Keesmaat said when asked whether she believes a three-stop extension represents sound transit planning.
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