Scarborough transit was back on the agenda as a topic in the mayoral race Tuesday.

Anthony Perruzza joined a chorus of calls for a dedicated busway to be built in place of the Scarborough RT, which is set to shut down this fall.

In a fiery release, the candidate said downtown councillors need to “stop screwing with Scarborough” and “build a busway now.”

A report set to go before council this week recommends that the city ask the province for nearly $3 million to continue design work for a dedicated busway. Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said Monday that she has secured a commitment from the TTC to continue the work and that Scarborough councillors will be asking their colleagues to approve a motion that would ensure the design work continues.

A number of other candidates have called for the busway to be built in the path of the decommissioned RT. Without it, Scarborough transit riders will be riding shuttle buses in dedicated bus lanes along regular roads – about 10 minutes slower each way from one end of the line to the other – until the subway extension is complete in seven years or so.

Meanwhile Josh Matlow said Tuesday that he will launch a “comprehensive transportation network” for the borough that “finally treats Scarborough residents with the respect they deserve and delivers faster, more reliable ways to get around.”

Speaking outside Kennedy Station, Matlow said his $1.2-billion “Scarborough Moves” plan would include a connected network of public transit routes  -- some of which are already on the books – along with cycling and walking trails.

The plan would include a 23-stop Eglinton East LRT line from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre; a nine-stop Sheppard East LRT from McCowan subway station to Neilson Road; and the busway in place of the RT.

He also promised to transform the elevated portion of the rail line just north of Ellesmere Road into a “Scarborough High Line,” similar to the green walking trail in Manhattan.

Matlow also released a detailed funding plan for the project. He said it would draw on funds already earmarked for the Eglinton East LRT, money “saved by rebuilding the eastern portion of the Gardiner on the ground,” as well as a previously announced parking lot levy. But he would also ask the federal and provincial governments to kick in 25 per cent each.

“It may be one of the first transit plans in Toronto that wasn’t written on the back of a napkin,” Matlow said.

Asked about downtown gridlock, Matlow said he doesn’t buy into “this kind of Fox News hyperbole around, you know, people having wars with each other” and said the best solution to fight gridlock is giving more people more options to get around faster “whether it be walking, biking, driving transit.”

He dismissed the idea that cyclists are the source of gridlock as “stupid.”  

Not according to Mark Saunders though. If elected, the former police chief vowed Tuesday, he would rip up bike lanes on University Avenue, reverse the decision to make the Yonge Street bike lanes permanent pending a review of the data, deprioritize the Bloor Street West bike lane expansion, and “immediately suspend all bike lane expansions” until a new consultation process is created.

He chalked up bike lane spending to the work of “career politicians at city hall.”  

Saunders insisted that he is “not against bike lanes,” but said “what I won’t stand for is putting them on major arteries that are already paralyzed by congestion. Bike lane installations must make sense for the communities they’re in.”

His announcement prompted Anthony Furey to label him a “copycat” for espousing a plan similar to Furey’s previously announced promise to also remove bike lanes from University Avenue, explore ripping them up in other places and “saying no” to new ones on major roads.

Ana Bailão was also talking gridlock Tuesday, but took aim at vehicles which block roads during rush hour.

“The 99 per cent of Torontonians who follow the rules behind the wheel shouldn’t be stuck in gridlock, looking for parking, and trapped in intersections, because some drivers refuse to follow the rules,” Bailão said.

She said she would make rush hour ticketing and towing blitzes permanent, Increase the fines for vehicles caught blocking lanes or parking illegally, and increase the fines for vehicles caught blocking lanes or parking illegally.