Toronto's public-transit agency says a proposed $6-billion, 120-kilometre light-rail network that could crisscross city's suburbs over the next 15 years would attract almost 70 million new riders, and transform Toronto into a "transit city."
Adam Giambrone, chairman of the officially unveiled the plans for seven new light-rail lines, running along major avenues in dedicated lanes, at a press conference Friday morning.
He said the plan, if funding from other governments can be found, would bring downtown-style rapid transit to the suburbs.
"What we have downtown is a real transit network," Mr. Giambrone said at a jam-packed press conference Friday at city hall. "We need to bring that to all corners of Toronto."
Toronto streetcar line. (Fred Lum/Globe and Mail)
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He said the plans would require at least $400-million a year to complete by 2021, including the cost of 240 new state-of-the-art light-rail vehicles, in addition to the replacement fleet the city plans to buy as its current 30-year-old streetcars expire.
And he said he had reason to believe, based on recent comments by federal ministers, that Ottawa was interested in spending even more on public transit, despite the recent announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of nearly $1-billion for transit initatives — including the extension of Toronto's subway system north to York Region.
"Frankly, without the support of all orders of government, transit in Toronto cannot work," Mr. Giambrone said.
The seven proposed lines, with the TTC's estimated ridership numbers by 2021, are:
– A 17.6-kilometre line down Don Mills, from Steeles to the Bloor-Danforth subway, for $675-million, would carry 21.2 million riders a year;
– A 30.8-kilometre line along Eglinton, from Kennedy Station to Pearson Airport, likely underground from Laird Drive to Keele Street, for $2.2-billion, which would carry 52.8 million riders a year;
– A 17.9-kilometre line along Finch Avenue West from Highway 27 in Etobicoke to Finch Station, for $835-million, which would carry 24.6 million riders a year;
– A 16.5-kilometre line on Jane Street, from Jane Station to Steeles, for $630-million, which would carry 24 million riders a year;
– A 15-kilometre Scarborough-Malvern line running from Kennedy Station on Eglinton, northeast on Kingston Road, and north on Morningside Drive, for $630-million, which would carry 14.1 million riders a year;
– A 13.6-kilometre line on Sheppard Avenue East from Don Mills Station to Morningside Drive, for $555-million, which would carry 16.5 million riders a year
– An 11-kilometre Waterfront West line from Union Station to Long Branch, for $540-million, which would carry 20.8 million riders a year.
The plans are based on promises made by Mayor David Miller in his re-election campaign, which themselves were largely drawn from existing TTC plans for light-rail corridors.
The concept of running light-rail vehicles, or streetcars, down the middle of major roads in their own dedicated lanes, while common in many European and now in some U.S. cities, has been controversial in Toronto.
The city's plans for dedicated lanes on St. Clair Avenue – still under construction – were bogged down in a lengthy battle with a group of residents and businesses that opposed them, fearing the project would cause traffic chaos and sacrifice parking.
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a right-leaning critic of the mayor, said he supported the concept of the light-rail plans, but said it was unlikely, even with significant help from other governments, that the city could afford to build the proposed lines.
"It's almost a make-believe plan," Mr. Minnan-Wong said. "Transit is not the only priority in this city. We've got roads falling apart, community centres falling apart."
