Make Scarboroug RT line a high priority: council

Toronto council has given its approval to plans to rebuild the aging Scarborough RT line using new light rail vehicles, and councillors made it clear they'd like the work done much more quickly than the 2015 start date that the provincial government announced last month.

The approval from Toronto gives a green light to proceeding with the Scarborough Rapid Transit line from the city's perspective. But as a part of the re-ordering of Transit City projects after the last provincial budget, Metrolinx has delayed the start of the project until 2015, after the Pan Am Games.

Mayor David Miller, who has been sharply critical of the decision to remove $4 billion of committed funds from Transit City, said the line running from Kennedy subway station to the Scarborough Town Centre and McCowan Road should be more of a priority.

"I think we should force the province to put this back in the 2011 budget and ensure this line is redone," he said. "It is essential for the transportation network of Toronto. You can't replace it with buses."

Councillors - particularly those from Scarborough - were bitter about the delay.

"The premier of this province frankly moved to pull the funds that will have a replacement of the SRT," said Scarborough Centre Councillor Michael Thompson, a long-time supporter of the Scarborough RT plan.

"I'm hopeful that next year the residents of Scarborough will speak loudly, because clearly their interest was not being taken into account."

Scarborough Agincourt Councillor Norm Kelly referred to a study he'd commissioned early in the term, determining just how badly Scarborough had done since amalgamation when it came to the allocation of services and infrastructure. He said the study indicated Scarborough was dealt with fairly in every area except transit.

"And if there's any part of Transit City that should be recalibrated and brought back to where it was positioned initially, the Scarborough RT is the one that should be," he said.

Council also confirmed a recommendation from Toronto's executive committee that a non-revenue portion of the line carrying cars to a storage facility along Progress Avenue be built underground to avoid the local community.