Cherise Burda, director of Ontario Energy Solutions for the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the new transit deal for Toronto announced March 31 by Mayor Ford and Premier McGuinty.
"We are pleased that the province is moving ahead with the Eglinton and Scarborough Rapid Transit lines. Since preliminary work has already been done on these lines, we can now stop debating and start building. Residents on Eglinton, in particular, have waited decades for rapid transit.
"Metrolinx also made the right decision in not funding the Sheppard subway, which would have been a fiscally irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.
"However, Mayor Ford's focus on underground means that Finch is forgotten and Sheppard is shafted.
"The extra $2 billion required to bury the Eglinton Crosstown LRT squeezes out a rapid transit line for Finch — currently the city's busiest bus route. Mayor Ford's plan also puts rapid transit on Sheppard in jeopardy. The Sheppard LRT (which was part of Transit City) was about to begin construction. Now the line is delayed, waiting for private subway financing that is not guaranteed."
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Contact:
Cherise Burda
Director, Ontario Energy Solutions, Pembina Institute
Cell: 416-824-0256
Phone: 416-644-1016
Twitter: @cheriseburda
Background:
Sheppard Stats
- Constructing a subway on Sheppard will cost more four times as much per kilometre as an LRT line
- A cost-effective subway requires a minimum rush hour ridership of 15,000 commuters, but the Sheppard East line is projected to have only 3000 to 5000 peak riders.
Finch Facts
- Finch is the busiest bus route and ridership is increasing. An "express bus" will not provide adequate capacity and it will still be in traffic, blocked by traffic and blocking traffic.
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Finch LRT is the most affordable of all transit lines, yet it has been cut.
Compare to other lines in the new plan:
- 11 kilometres Finch LRT: $0.9 billion
- 12 kilometres Sheppard Subway: more than $4 billion
- 8 kilometres of additional Eglinton underground: at least $2 billion
For further details and maps, download our full media backgrounder.
