York West Councillor Anthony Perruzza has launched a campaign to save the Finch light rapid transit (LRT) line from its planned demise.
Perruzza and about 25 volunteers, including York Federation of Students president Krisna Saravanamuttu, kicked off the campaign Saturday, Feb. 19 with speeches at a coffee shop on Finch Avenue, west of Yonge Street, before going door to door to talk to residents.
Residents feel strongly about saving the line, Perruzza said.
"One individual said, 'Every time they plan a good thing for this area, somebody comes along and takes it away,'" he said, quoting one resident he encountered.
Volunteers have gathered about 200 names on a petition to save the Finch LRT, which is at risk of being killed under Mayor Rob Ford's transit plan favouring an extension of the Sheppard subway.
The Finch LRT would likely be replaced by an express bus service between Finch West station and Humber College.
But Perruzza said he's not going to sit idly by and let that happen, saying a Finch LRT line would serve some of the poorest residents in the city.
"My view is we're going to go door to door and talk to as many people as we can. We're going to board the buses. We're going to express the importance of having a line on Finch," he said, adding he won't give up until a Finch LRT is given the thumbs up.
"Our timeline is until we get approval to build Finch. We won't stop until we win. We're in for the long haul."
The campaign has gathered thousands of emails from residents supporting the Finch LRT, Perruzza said.
Volunteers will also use social media to connect with people who want the line, he said.
"You only have to look at what is happening in the Arab world to see the importance of social networking," he said.
But York Centre Councillor James Pasternak argued that while it would be ideal to fund all necessary transit requirements, including the Finch LRT, there isn't an unlimited stash of money to bankroll them all.
Given that reality, his priority is extending the Sheppard subway line west to Downsview. That would be the only connection between subway lines north of Bloor Street, he argued.
Building a Sheppard subway to Downsview would also ease traffic pressure on Finch, Pasternak said.
In place of a Finch LRT, Ian McConachie, spokesperson for Metrolinx, the provincial transportation authority, said service on Finch would be TTC express bus service, not a Metrolinx project.
"Yeah, the TTC would run more a bus service and my understanding is some kind of express bus service along special lanes, that's what it'd be," he said, adding a Finch LRT would be revisited down the road when funding is available.
"We've said the Finch West has been deferred at this time. The Big Move is a 25-year plan and as we move forward; hopefully there'll be an opportunity for Finch West LRT to come into fruition."
- with files from Tim Foran