TTC chair Karen Stintz has called on city council to renew its support for a transit expansion plan that was scrapped by Mayor Rob Ford.
Council will now discuss the transit plan at a special meeting on Wednesday.
Stintz presented a petition to the city clerk Monday asking for the special meeting.
In an interview with CP24's Stephen LeDrew, Stintz said the meeting is taking place after she and the mayor received letters from Metrolinx asking city councillors to bring some clarity to the city's transit plan.
Twenty-four councillors have signed the petition that urges the city to shelve Ford's transit plan and go back to a light rail plan, dubbed Transit City, developed under former mayor David Miller, according to reports.
Ford and his brother, city Coun. Doug Ford, declined to comment on the petition Monday when they were surrounded by reporters after their weekly "Cut the Waist" weight-loss campaign weigh-in.
Ford's transit vision has come increasingly under fire in recent weeks.
Stintz and the councillors who signed the petition want the city to build light rail lines on Eglinton Avenue, Finch Avenue West and Sheppard Avenue East and replace the existing Scarborough Rapid Transit line – measures proposed in a deal the city reached with the province in 2009.
Ford scrapped that plan after he was elected, replacing it with one that calls for one underground route, dubbed the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and a Sheppard subway expansion to be funded by the private sector.
Stintz said that every part of town can benefit if the money is spread around.
"Do we want to spend on Eglinton or in other areas of the city?" she told reporters Monday morning.
"There are concerns around the underground and LRT (plans). Is that the best use of our limited resources?" she added.
The province earmarked $8.4-billion for public transit expansion in Toronto when the Transit City deal was reached.
At a news conference earlier this month, Ford said he remains committed to building subways and refuses to compromise. Subway expansion was a key promise during Ford's campaign.
The transit dispute is intensifying as the original light rail agreement signed between the city and province is set to expire next month, the Globe and Mail reports.
For her plan to pass, Stintz needs the support of at least 23 councillors.
When asked what the role is of a council and a mayor, Stintz said she wants all voices heard, even if that means her job as chair will be put on the line.
"There is always the expectation that council would give input," she said. "I think the mayor has made it clear he wants someone else in the position of chair and I serve at the pleasure of the mayor."
