GOOD RAPID TRANSIT FOR SCARBOROUGH

 

Sheppard-Map

UNIVERSAL MOBILITY

Public transit is a great equalizer. Transit riders in Scarborough need an affordable, convenient, fast, accessible, publicly owned, operated and maintained rapid transit network.

 

TRANSIT JUSTICE

When making decisions about rapid transit expansion we can no longer afford to allow the “nothing in the way of my car” mentality to override and eclipse the needs of transit riders, especially those living in our outer neighbourhoods. Cars and trucks are the main cause of  traffic congestion, climate change, urban sprawl, smog and pedestrian fatalities. Sitting in traffic can lead to road rage, diabetes, heart and lung disease and alienation. Public transit is a much more efficient way to move people around the city and it works even better when it has it’s own dedicated, right of way. Whether they drive or not, Canadians contribute $13.5B a year towards roads. If we are serious about averting the dire consequences of too many cars and trucks, existing road space must be shared with buses and LRTs.

 

ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR DIFFERENT MODES OF RAPID TRANSIT

Toronto needs a combination of subways, LRTs, dedicated bus lanes and electrified GO lines to address our mobility issues. So far, the conversation about rapid transit choices has been limited to a narrow set of “either or” options ie. subway or LRT?  LRT or Smart Track? This narrow framing is based on the assumption that government debt and neo liberal austerity measures prevent us from funding all three. However, limited funding for public infrastructure and service is predicated on public-private-partnerships, corporate and high income tax cuts and bailouts, all of which siphon money away from our shared public resources. Adequate funding for an integrated publicly controlled  transit network must be restored and it must create good, local jobs.

 

RAPID TRANSIT FOR TRANSIT RIDERS

Federal, provincial and municipal representatives are elected every four years but expansion and operation of public transit infrastructure is ongoing. In the past, many of the decisions around what kind of technology to use and where, have been made by politicians wishing to further their own careers. Most politicians do not depend on the TTC and many have never taken a bus to Malvern or UTSC. The urgent need to address our transit shortfall in Scarborough  must not be circumvented by political opportunism. The experience of  transit riders and transit oriented planning principles should carry more weight in the decision making process.

 

MAKE TRANSIT TO OUR OUTER NEIGHBOURHOODS  AND CAMPUSES A PRIORITY

In 2009, Transit City was set to bring rapid transit to Scarborough’s outer neighbourhoods and campuses, serving Malvern, Kingston and Galloway, Eglinton East, Centennial College Progress and Morningside campus and U of T Scarborough, where over fifty per cent of the student population rely on buses to get to class. Today, funding for the Malvern LRT has been cut and the money earmarked for the Scarborough LRT is being funneled into a subway, leaving the transit riders who were once a priority, relegated to a crowded bus for another thirty years. A rapid transit network serving our outer neighbourhoods and campuses must remain a priority. A proposal to extend the Sheppard subway must not take away funding or delay rapid transit to Malvern.

Read more about our position on the Scarborough Subway here.

Scarborough Committee

 

Latest posts

Take action

Tell your City Councillor: Freeze TTC Fares
Bus lanes now
Rally to Open the Crosstown
Protect Door-to-Door Wheel-Trans Service!
Work For Us
Tell Your MP: Sign the Transit Pledge
Add your name for Fare Capping!
Keep and Expand Free TTC Wi-Fi!

Connect with us