Toronto, ON — Transit advocacy organization TTCriders is welcoming today’s announcement that Line 5 will open on February 8, while urging for more accountability from Metrolinx, the Provincial Government, and Crosslinx to ensure riders are not let down again.
After more than 14 years of delays and cost overruns, the opening of Line 5 will finally provide long awaited rapid transit to a community that has waited for far too long. TTCriders says their members are eager to celebrate, but are worried about similar operational issues that have plagued the Finch LRT.
“Line 5 shouldn't have been this delayed,” said Andrew Pulsifer, Executive Director of TTCriders. “We're glad that it's finally opening, but sincerely hope it launches without the kinds of reliability problems we saw on Line 6, because riders won’t accept another bungled opening.”
TTCriders stressed that the prolonged delays on Line 5 represent a systemic failure that must be examined publicly to prevent history from repeating itself.
“This project took far too long, and Torontonians deserve clear answers about why,” Pulsifer said. “We need a public inquiry into the delays on Line 5 and Line 6 so that future projects, like the Eglinton East LRT and the Waterfront East LRT, are not saddled with the same mistakes. If we don’t learn the lessons of Lines 5 and 6 now, we risk repeating these failures again and again.”
Local residents echoed the cautious optimism felt by many along the corridor.
“I live near Eglinton and everyone around here talks about how construction dragged on with no real clarity about what was happening,” said Jian Cheng, a local resident. “I’m relieved that I’ll finally be able to ride the line, but it’s frustrating knowing how much disruption our community endured without transparency or accountability.”