Members of the mayor’s executive committee are meeting today to consider the latest proposal for the Scarborough subway extension.
The proposal, which was announced last week, would scrap two of the three planned stations and reinvest the estimated $1 billion in savings into building a 17-stop LRT line that will connect with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and go to the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus.
The motion being debated today asks executive committee members to direct the chief planner and the Toronto Transit Commission to “continue technical work” on the new plan, conduct public consultations and report back on their findings by June. If approved, city council would then vote on the item at their meeting on Feb. 3.
“People are always nervous about trudging up debates again around here so there is that trepidation, but at the same time I think fundamentally we are getting more transit for that part of the city so there is consensus there,” TTC Chair Josh Colle told CP24 on Thursday. “There is still work to be done and questions are still being asked but we are making progress.”
The debate over the Scarborough subway extension has been among the most polarizing debates at city hall in recent years.
Initially council approved a seven-stop, provincially-funded light rail transit line for the borough but when former Mayor Rob Ford assumed office he declared the idea dead and eventually convinced council to support the three-stop extension of the Bloor Danforth line into Scarborough.
Mayor John Tory then promised to follow through with his predecessor’s plan to build the subway, however when confronted with evidence from planners that two of three stations would not be justified, the mayor pivoted.
“I campaigned on a subway to Scarborough and the last time I checked this plan has a subway to Scarborough,” he told reporters last week. “It is a subway that I think is more sensible based on expert evidence which is how I am trying to make decisions for the people of Toronto.”
The province of Ontario is expected to pay about $1.5 billion of the $3.5 billion cost of the revamped project while the federal government is expected to contribute $660 million.
Speaking with CP24 about the new plan on Thursday, Chief Planner Jennifer Keesmaat said it is “logical” and not “laced with crazy platitudes.”
“The logic is very strong behind what we are proposing so each time we presented even people who are skeptical once they see the logic and rationale they say ‘That is a good idea. That makes sense.’ To me that is the ultimate test,” she said. “Is it something that people can understand as being in the best interests of Scarborough? It is coming out loud and clear that people get it.”
