Where's the Eglinton East LRT and the Relief Line in the city's Transit Network Plan Update?

This post will be updated as new information becomes available.

On Wednesday, city staff released an update on its transit expansion plans

>. The report recommends City Council move forward with funding the next stage of Smart Track and the Eglinton West LRT.   The report was approved unanimously by the Executive Committee, and will now go to a City Council vote next week.

While we are supportive of the plan to expand public transit in Toronto, this latest report has us worried about the city's transit priorities.

Please read Brenda Thompson's take on how this latest transit report doesn't help Scarborough priority neighbourhoods.

What about today's 1.8 million riders?

By approving this report, the Executive Committee said yes to spending millions on new transit projects.  However, just four months earlier, City Council voted to cut the TTC's budget by 2.6%. This decision forced the TTC to absorb all inflationary increases and mandated service improvements, such as service on the Toronto York Spadina Subway Extension.

The TTC is now in a funding crisis. Service cuts on up to 20 routes will begin later this month, and more are coming.  While planning for future transit is very important, we cannot forget about today's riders.

There is no mention of the Eglinton East LRT and the Relief Line

The report only recommends moving forward and directing city funding to the Eglinton West LRT and Smart Track. It does not direct any funding to the much-needed Eglinton East LRT or the Relief Line, even though both of these projects were approved in the July Transit Network report. Could this be a broken promise to the transit riders of Mid-Scarborough, Scarborough Village, East Scarborough and the students at UTSC?  Did our 100-year wait for the Relief Line just get longer? 

City staff and Mayor John Tory have said these projects have not been dropped.  But transit riders have every reason to be concerned. We've had decades of wonderful ideas being presented, which then fall by the wayside because they are not funded.

When you fund it, we know you're behind it.

Smart Track promises are unclear

TTCriders is supportive of electrifying GO and increasing transit on GO lines.

But we are not surprised that Smart Track cannot be funded by Tax Increment Financing - a property tax leveraged on development in the area around each station - alone.  Though was no mention of this at Wednesday's Executive Committee meeting, we are very opposed to selling off vital public assets (like Toronto Hydro) to pay for Smart Track.

If we are all going to pay for it, we should all be able to afford to ride it. This premise is why we are very concerned about the report’s failure to clarify if Mayor Tory will keep his promise to run trains every five minutes and price Smart Track at TTC fares.

Mayor Tory's promise matters. The city and the University of Toronto conducted a transportation study that showed in 2031, Smart Track would attract upwards of 300,000 daily riders, if trains ran every 5 minutes, and was priced at TTC fares. Ridership would plummet to about 37,000 if service ran every 15 minutes, and was priced at GO fares.  This year, the TTC's 144 Downtown/Don Valley Express bus alone carried about 36,000 riders a day. $8 billion is a lot of money to throw at the same number of riders that board the Don Valley Express bus.

Funding for light rapid transit has been pushed to Toronto

The report proposes downloading all operating and maintenance costs of the Finch West, Sheppard East and Eglinton Crosstown LRTs from the provincial government to the city. What a blow.  It has long been assumed the provincial government would pick up the tab for operating these lines. They should be recommitting to match the city’s contribution to the TTC as they used to do, not running further away from their responsibility to fund transit operations. And what does that mean for the future of these routes, given that City Council refuses to fairly fund current transit operations?

We are calling on levels of government to provide public transit to all corners of the city, including investing in the Relief Line and the LRT network.

Share your opinion on Toronto's future transit network, and how it should be paid for.

Contact your Councillor.  Call 311 or use the table below.

Contact your Member of Provincial Parliment (MPP).  Find your MPP here.

Mayor John Tory [email protected] 416-397-2489
Councillor Vincent Crisanti [email protected] 416-392-0205
Councillor Michael Ford [email protected] 416-397-9255
Councillor Stephen Holyday [email protected] 416-392-4002
Councillor John Campbell [email protected] 416-392-1369
Councillor Justin Di Ciano [email protected] 416-392-4040
Councillor Mark Grimes [email protected] 416-397-9273
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti [email protected] 416-395-6401
Councillor Anthony Perruzza [email protected] 416-338-5335
Councillor Maria Augimeri [email protected] 416-392-4021
Councillor James Pasternak [email protected] 416-392-1371
Councillor Frances Nunziata [email protected] 416-392-4091
Councillor Frank Di Giorgio [email protected] 416-392-4066
Councillor Sarah Doucette [email protected] 416-392-4072
Councillor Gord Perks [email protected] 416-392-7919
Councillor Josh Colle [email protected] 416-392-4027
Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb [email protected] 416-392-4090
Councillor Cesar Palacio [email protected] 416-392-7011
Councillor Ana Bailão [email protected] 416-392-7012
Councillor Mike Layton [email protected] 416-392-4009
Councillor Joe Cressy [email protected] 416-392-4044
Councillor Joe Mihevc [email protected] 416-392-0208
Councillor Josh Matlow [email protected] 416-392-7906
Councillor John Filion [email protected] 416-392-0210
Councillor David Shiner [email protected] 416-395-6413
Councillor Jaye Robinson [email protected] 416-395-6408
Councillor Jon Burnside [email protected] 416-392-0215
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam [email protected] 416-392-7903
Councillor Pam McConnell [email protected] 416-392-7916
Councillor Mary Fragedakis [email protected] 416-392-4032
Councillor Paula Fletcher [email protected] 416-392-4060
Councillor Janet Davis [email protected] 416-392-4035
Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon [email protected] 416-392-1376
Councillor Shelley Carroll [email protected] 416-392-4038
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong [email protected] 416-397-9256
Councillor Michelle Holland [email protected] 416-392-0213
Councillor Gary Crawford [email protected] 416-392-4052
Councillor Michael Thompson [email protected] 416-397-9274
Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker [email protected] 416-392-0204
Councillor Jim Karygiannis [email protected] 416-392-1374
Councillor Norman Kelly [email protected] 416-392-4047
Councillor Chin Lee [email protected] 416-392-1375
Councillor Vacant Vacant [email protected] 416-392-4076
Councillor Paul Ainslie [email protected] 416-392-4008
Councillor Ron Moeser [email protected] 416-392-1373

Latest posts

How are your Don Valley West candidates promising to improve public transit?

We’ve asked candidates whether they’ll invest in more TTC service, protect door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, expand TTC’s low-income discount, approve fare capping and more. View candidates’ detailed answers to our survey, information about their transit platforms, and more.

Letter & Survey: TTC must exchange expired tokens and tickets

Do you still have TTC tokens or paper senior/student tickets or day passes? The TTC has announced that they will stop accepting TTC tokens and paper tickets after December 31, 2024. But the TTC will not be issuing exchanges. This is unfair to people who have saved up tokens and tickets, especially low-income seniors. Gift cards and permanent stamps never expire --  why are transit fares any different?

“Rally to Fix the TTC” calls for investment in repairing subway slow zones during National Transit Week

(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders will hold a rally today at 5:00pm outside Bathurst Subway Station to call on federal Members of Parliament to invest in TTC repairs and new subway trains on Line 2 by accelerating implementation of the Canada Public Transit Fund. The rally is part of a national “Transit Action Week” being organized in 5 Canadian cities. (Cantonese, Mandarin, French spokespeople available.)

Take action

Add your name for Fare Capping!
Tell Your MP: Sign the Transit Pledge
Bus lanes now
Protect Wheel-Trans Service
Keep and Expand Free TTC Wi-Fi!

Connect with us