The proposal to build Rail Deck Park in the city’s downtown core has received some solid support from Torontonians, according to a recently released poll.
The Forum Research poll, which surveyed 778 Toronto voters, found that 51 per cent of Torontonians approved of building the 21-acre park even if it costs $1 billion to construct.
Only 38 per cent disapproved of the proposal and 10 per cent had not opinion about the project.
While the majority of Torontonians appear to support the pricey proposed project, far fewer said they thought taxpayers should foot the bill.
A little more than one third of voters said they thought public funds should be spent on the project (37 per cent) while 46 per cent of respondents disagreed that public money should be used.
One staff report has indicated that it could cost in excess of $1.05 billion to complete the park, which would be built above a rail corridor between Bathurst Street and Blue Jays Way.
In October, city council voted in favour of spending $2.4 million to study the proposal.
“This is a huge vote of confidence in this proposed park, in that voters were given the estimated cost when they were asked about their approval. It is almost impossible to poll any expensive public works positively, but, in this case, there is such a recognized need for green space in the core that approval Is high,” Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research, said in his analysis accompanying the poll.
The poll, which was conducted on Nov. 14, has a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.
