nfitz
Superstar
By Ford's own admission this plan will delay some bigger projects as well, such as the almost shovel-ready 2026 Scarborough subway extension.We can't pretend that the new massive funding commitments for the Relief Line and for Yonge North won't cause delays for some of the smaller projects. Eglinton East, Sheppard, and any attempts to extend the Finch LRT beyond the original Keele - Humber College segment, will have to wait until the payments for RL and Yonge North are settled.
Also, there's the 2027 date for the Ontario Line. How can they possibly need another up to 4 years to 2030 for the already partially designed Line 2 extension (with some design work done for the entire length) and then be able to deliver the completely undesigned much longer Ontario line up to 3 years earlier? Quite frankly they'll be luck to meet the current 2029 date. Though surely, the reality is that the hundreds of millions the city was going to spend this year, is simply going to stop being spent, and there'll be years of delay as the work transitions from the city to the province. Look how many years the opening of relatively Finch West has already slipped after it was uploaded? Recall that when the province announced full funding for the line in 2009, it was to be completed in 2013, with council getting ready to start tendering the initial contracts in 2010. Then the province changed tracks in 2010 and uploaded the line, delaying the opening to 2019. Despite not much to slow it down, it then slipped to 2020 by 2013. Then in 2017 they said 2022. And now it's 2023. That's ten years later than the city was working. It's possible that the city would have delivered it late ... but 10 years for mostly surface LRT?
Not sure why 2026 was questionable. With tendering starting soon, that's a typical timeframe. The delay isn't necessary at all, if Tories really cared about Scarborough, they'd simply provide TTC with the extra funding, work in the Lawrence East design and extension to Sheppard while they proceed with the current plan (without the huge bus terminal and the Lawrence East emergency exit), then add a contract for Lawrence East station. By the time the TBM finishes the almost 6 km to Scarborough Centre, they should be able to have got the design done to do another 1.5 km tunnel to Sheppard. Perhaps the final station opens a year or two later, and they use a temporary bus terminal.Lets keep in mind the City was seriously designing a subway without stops with a questionable opening date of 2026 and the Liberals were mum. Delaying 3-4 years to build a proper line is unfortunate but hardly a concern here. Its great news after witnessing real incompetence the last couple decades.
But no, what's really going to happen is they'll push it off until after the DRL and Line 1 extension. Then between, this, that, the other thing, and various elections ... it just never starts.
They could have had major construction underway by 2021, long before the 2022 elections, which could surely delay the whole thing until the mid-2030s or later. But the Conservatives are instead choosing that another government spend money later. This doesn't get anything built. Again.
It amazes me that people don't see the shell game for what it is.