Rob Ford’s first order of business as Mayor of Toronto was to declare Transit City “over.” But the plan isn’t completely dead – it’s just getting a major revamp.
Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, and the TTC are working on a new hybrid plan in an effort to integrate Ford’s pledge for subway expansion.
During the election, Ford ran on a campaign that focused on building new subway lines, suggesting surface-level LRT lines were part of the “war on cars.”
Four lines make up the current Transit City plan: the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, the Sheppard East LRT, the Finch West LRT, and the Scarborough RT modernization.
Ford has called his top priority the Sheppard line. He’d rather scrap the LRT and extend the existing Sheppard subway line until it reaches the Scarborough Town Centre.
But work on the Sheppard East LRT line has already begun and many critics wonder whether the suburb has the population density to support the subway line.
The Pembina Institute published a report on January 5 suggesting subways would provide less service per dollar invested than the existing light rail rapid transit plan.
The priorities of Metrolinx maybe a bit different from Ford’s Sheppard focus. They’ve said it’s too soon to say which line will take precedence.
According to CBC News, Bruce McCuaig, CEO of Metrolinx, said the 33-kilometre Eglinton line is a major priority for the province and his agency is working with city officials to make it a reality.
“They’ve communicated back that they understand the importance of the Eglinton line. So we have … confidence that we will be moving ahead with that particular project,” he said.
The Eglinton LRT might survive the changes. About 10 km of the line will be underground. It might not be a subway, but an underground line would mean the LRVs would not have to vie for road space with cars.
“We see that the light-rail transit across Eglinton is below grade. And even though it’s not quote, unquote a subway, it does meet with the mayor’s vision that new transit built in Toronto be below surface,” said TTC Chair Karen Stintz.
Details about changes to the existing Transit City plan could be available during the January 26 Metrolinx board meeting. The TTC board also has a meeting scheduled for February 2.
ReNew Canada will be watching the developments closely and will update the online profiles of the Top 100 LRT lines once changes have been finalized.
Nalcor Energy has issued a letter of intent to SNC-Lavalin to oversee the engineering, procurement, and construction for Phase one of the Lower Churchill Project. Included in this contract is the responsibility for Muscrat Falls Generation Facility and the Labrador-island Transmission Link.
