A new poll suggests that a little more than half of Toronto residents favour adding a stop to the planned Scarborough subway extension.

The current plan calls for a three-stop extension of the Bloor subway into Scarborough to replace the aging Scarborough RT. It has been estimated the extension will cost around $3.5 billion.

Asked whether they would favour adding a fourth stop at an estimated cost of $100-150 million more, 53 per cent of respondents in the Mainstreet Technologies poll said they approve of the idea. Some 33 per cent said they oppose the idea while 15 per cent said they’re unsure.

The issue of transit for Scarborough has been a political hot potato over the past few years, with the province and warring camps on council going back and forth over whether to build light rail or a subway.

Mayor John Tory has said he approves of the current three-stop plan. However Deputy Mayor Glenn De Baeremaker – The Ward 38 councillor for Scarborough Centre – has said he would like to see a fourth stop added at Danforth Road and Eglinton Avenue.

Speaking with CP24 Monday, Scarborough councillor Norm Kelly said he wouldn’t be in favour of adding a fourth stop if it meant re-opening the entire debate about the subway at council.

Unsurprisingly, the idea of a fourth stop found the strongest support among Scarborough residents, 56 per cent of whom strongly approved of the idea. Just 25 per cent of people in both Etobicoke and downtown favoured the idea, while 40 per cent of North York residents approved.

Tory’s “honeymoon” continues

In addition the question about the Scarborough subway, the poll found that Mayor John Tory enjoys a soaring approval rating, with 73 per cent of respondents saying they approve of the job he’s doing as mayor.

“Mayor John Tory’s honeymoon is in full swing” Mainstreet Technologies President Quito Maggi said in a statement released with the poll. “But the public is not fully onside with his view on the Scarborough Subway and they are split on his decision to delay garbage privatization instead of taking immediate action as he promised in the election.”

Tory has said he plans to further study the issue of privatizing garbage collection east of Yonge Street rather than simply implementing it without study.

The Mainstreet poll found that 43 per cent pf Torontonians disagreed with that decision.

Still, Maggi said there appears to be “a tremendous amount of goodwill for this mayor.”

Tory’s approval rating beat out that of city council as a whole (51 per cent) and the average approval rating for respondents’ local councillors (61 per cent).

The poll sampled 2,320 Torontonians by interactive voice response on Jan. 11. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.03 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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