Transit City might be revived

Transit City, the plan for light-rail-transit lines Mayor Rob Ford declared "dead" and friendless in Scarborough, has some allies.

News that the plan - through a single vote at Toronto Council Wednesday, Feb. 8 - could return to where it was before Ford took over in 2010 has cheered some who probably thought, just weeks ago, their cause was lost.

One who favours the old scheme is Brad Chapman, Centennial College's CFO and vice president of business development.

Centennial needs rapid transit projects to expand, and was "deeply upset and concerned" Ford's changes to the plan dropped a light-rail link through Centennial's Progress Campus to Sheppard Avenue.

The mayor had, through an agreement with the province, scrapped the Scarborough East LRT line to east of Morningside Avenue in favour of a privately-financed Sheppard Subway extension to Scarborough Town Centre.

With that decision, and Ford's declaration that more of the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT would run underground, the planned northern extension of that line (the current Scarborough Rapid Transit line) past the shopping mall disappeared.

On Tuesday, Chapman said "it makes no difference" to Centennial whether the LRT on Eglinton is underground or not.

"What's important to us is improved transit sooner rather than later," he said, adding if realizing savings on tunnelling on Eglinton frees up funds and makes the extension through the Progress Campus possible, "that's significantly important to us."

Chapman also suggested surface LRT lines, including on Eglinton in Scarborough, could be completed more quickly than light rail in a tunnel, which is significant for Centennial's planned expansion of its Ashtonbee campus at Eglinton and Warden Avenue.

Ashtonbee, home to classes in transportation for about 3,000 students, is both "space constrained and parking constrained" but over time could grow up to 50 per cent by building over-surface parking,

"Right now, 50 per cent of that campus is parking," said Chapman, adding the campus expansion, including a new building by September 2013 with more academic space, a new library and a student service hub is the first to be launched under a master plan completed a few months ago.

Raymond Cho, the Scarborough-Rouge River councillor, said he was disappointed Ford's plans would bring nothing to his ward and he welcomed the chance to revive the Sheppard East LRT, which would meet the Crosstown at a point near Markham Road and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.

Adding to Cho's incentive to support a motion by TTC Chairperson Karen Stintz to revert to Transit City is the hope, he said, a further extension of the Crosstown line could reach Malvern Town Centre.

Cho acknowledged on Tuesday, Feb. 7, he wasn't sure Stintz or other councillors would support this the following day, but said he'd make a case for it. "We have lots of New Canadians and we have the most children and youth," Cho said, adding Stintz "didn't say she had enough money, but that's the plan. At least I'm hopeful."

Respect Scarborough, a group that formed to fight cuts in the city budget, was trying Tuesday to rally residents to support "Stintz's plan" arguing in flyers that if local councillors vote against it, "Scarborough will be stuck on the bus for decades."

During his campaign for mayor, Ford appeared to be impressed by opposition of residents in groups such as Save Our Sheppard to a Sheppard East LRT and their position a subway extension is needed. Some merchants in the Sheppard East Business Improvement Area, however, expressed disappointment Sheppard wouldn't receive street improvements the LRT would bring.

In the past few weeks, local councillors along the Eglinton route have said most residents who had an opinion tell them they want the Scarborough portion of the Crosstown LRT to remain underground.

Mary Moriarty moved to a neighbourhood called Iondale north of Eglinton in 1970, an area she said was close to the Don Valley Parkway and Highway 401. "What we lack in ambiance we make up in convenience," she said.

Moriarty said an LRT on the surface would have to stop for lights, but more local people would leave their cars at home if they could ride on a train underground. "I know it's more expensive, but this is supposed to be a world-class city."