TTC reopens Scarborough subway debate in surprise move
Just as the province and city were poised to sign off on the latest LRT transit plan, the city councillors on the Toronto Transit Commission have thrown open the debate again on subways versus LRTs.
Moments after declaring a downtown relief subway line was its top priority, the TTC board asked transit staff to prepare feasibility reports on converting the Scarborough RT into a subway rather than the LRT that is planned.
They approved a second study on a subway along Sheppard.
The move infuriated one TTC commissioner.
TTC commissioner John Parker, who was out of the room praising the decision on a downtown relief line, confronted his commission colleagues afterwards, telling them that voting in favour of subway studies was “a stupid, stupid, irresponsible thing.”
“(Ontario Transportation Minister Bob) Chiarelli looks like the only grown-up in the room,” an angry Parker told TTC chair Karen Stintz and vice-chair Glenn De Baeremaeker, who moved the motion to restudy the SRT as a subway.
De Baeremaeker said he was sure it would show that for $500 million more than the cost of converting the SRT to the LRT currently planned, the city could convert it to a subway.
Etobicoke Councillor Peter Milczyn then asked for another study on the Sheppard subway line favoured by Mayor Rob Ford.
Stintz insisted that the studies don’t reopen the hard-fought debate at council earlier this year over the subways favoured by the mayor and the LRTs that council approved to spread $8.1 billion in provincial transit money around the city.
“Nothing that we did today changes that decision,” she said.
“I’m confident we’re going to have one study come back saying it is feasible to extend the Bloor-Danforth subway to Sheppard and I’m also confident the feasibility study will also say it’s not feasible to extend the move to Don Mills Station,” she told reporters.
“Asking for a feasibility study is well within our rights and valuable information for the public,” said Stintz.
Councillor Josh Matlow, who is not on the transit commission, called the TTC decision a potentially disastrous folly.
People don’t want any more delays in building, he said.
“Public confidence declines in the TTC, in council and the government every time we reopen debates and have them over and over again,” he said.
“Those of us who wanted to move forward with a plan that could be supported by the provincial government and Metrolinx won the day on behalf of the residents of Toronto. What the TTC have done today is reopen the debate and given the mayor a perfect platform to repeat, “Subway, subway, subway,” over and over again and, now I hear more people joining in that chant,” said Matlow.
TTC CEO Andy Byford said he expected to ink a master agreement between the city, the TTC and Metrolinx very soon that authorizes moving ahead with building four LRTs with $8.1 billion in provincial funds. That agreement could come to council as early as next week, according to Stintz
