The train seems to have come off the tracks for Mayor Rob Ford's plans for the future of public transportation in Toronto.
At a special meeting on Wednesday councillors voted 25-18 in favour of a light rail transit plan, dubbed Transit City, developed under former mayor David Miller.
Led by TTC chair Karen Stintz, the plan calls for the city to build light rail lines on Eglinton Avenue, Finch Avenue West and Sheppard Avenue East with $8.4 billion in provincial funding.
Ford scrapped Transit City after he was elected, replacing it with a plan that calls for one underground route on Eglinton Avenue and a Sheppard subway expansion to be funded by the private sector.
On Wednesday Ford put forward a motion that would have deferred any decision by 30 days while an expert panel was assembled. That motion was subsequently defeated 24-19.
"I think that the inability of certain members of council to put off a final decision and to work with the mayor on finding a compromise means this fight will probably continue," Coun. Norm Kelly told CP24 late Wednesday afternoon. "Instead of trying to cleanly wrap this up in a way that would have given both sides of the argument a chance to draw on the expertise of a wide range of people we have ignored that."
In a report released this week, Metrolinx said Ford's plan would cut travel time by 25 per cent, be more reliable and boost ridership by 30 per cent.
Earlier this week, Stintz told CP24 the councillors sought the meeting after Metrolinx asked city councillors to bring some clarity to the city's transit plan. She said every part of the Toronto can benefit if the cash from the province is spread around.
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.
