If Cummer station is removed (just extend the existing passenger walk way to Cummer) and build the Steeles station at north of Steeles, Toronto's capital share would drop even more. York Region should fund the city share alone. Toronto could use this saved cake to fund the DRL.
Mmm, but their intensification potential at Cummer would drop (even with a walkway). It costs you tax dollars and development charges (which, like, go to help pay for the subway!). you could skip Cummer as a short-term thing, just rough in, but I doubt it's worth the purported savings.
(Maybe someone else knows - is there already a development proposal for the Newtonbrook Plaza there? Man, that thing is ripe for major intensification when the time is right for them to pull the trigger.)
Still think people are over reading it.
Yonge will get built, if Toronto is interested in it or not. It's in Toronto's best interest to simply ignore it as much as possible, so as to lessen the possibility that anyone think or suggest that Toronto provide any funding to the project. Only 2 of the 6.5 km are in Toronto. Using the traditional ⅓/⅓/⅓ forumula, Toronto is only going to be on the hook for about 10% of the cost - building this project doesn't turn on Toronto.
I agree, really, with everything you're saying about the practical realities.
I think no one should get crazy about what's ultimately a nice concept plan. Still, it's surely odd that the subway is given such a vague designation. Maybe it's an oversight, maybe it's just some graphic designer used the wrong colour, maybe something else. But it's poor optics for the city to - at best - be saying, "Well, that extension of our central subway line is going to happen, but we're not really involved." It should be coloured in all pretty, just like their other, far more hypothetical lines.