John Tory ‘furious’ at ballooning costs of Spadina subway extension
Mayor says “accountability … includes people losing their jobs” while the TTC chair is calling for third-party review of all capital projects.
Mayor John Tory is livid that the cost for delayed York-Spadina subway extension has ballooned — repeating what he called a disturbing pattern of large capital project overruns.
He was reacting to
revelations in the Star that the troubled line is $400 million over budget.
“We have lurched from one fiasco to another costing taxpayers … tens of millions of dollars, and just as important, delaying the day we get desperately needed transit service to move people,” Tory said Friday at city hall.
“I am furious that this happens over and over and over again.”
He blames what he called “an entrenched culture of nonaccountability at city hall.”
Tory said TTC chief executive Andy Byford, who is away, briefed him a few days ago on the possibility of significant cost overruns.
The amount of money it will take to finish the extension depends on what options are chosen, including whether the subway could initially run only as far as York University.
While Toronto and York Region are contractually responsible for the overruns, the mayor said it is premature to speculate on how the additional costs will be paid.
Asked why no one ever gets fired for projects that run over budget, Tory said: “I think that’s a darn good question.”[...]
