FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subway takeover could delay Relief Line
January 17, 2019 (Toronto, ON) — Transit advocacy organization TTCriders welcomes today’s announcement by Mayor John Tory that the City intends to add $162 million to the TTC’s 2019 Capital Budget in order to speed up the construction of the Relief Line by two years. But the organization says that the province’s plan to take over the subway system will cause delays to the Relief Line and other projects.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subway takeover could delay Relief Line
January 17, 2019 (Toronto, ON) — Transit advocacy organization TTCriders welcomes today’s announcement by Mayor John Tory that the City intends to add $162 million to the TTC’s 2019 Capital Budget in order to speed up the construction of the Relief Line by two years. But the organization says that the province’s plan to take over the subway system will cause delays to the Relief Line and other projects.
“The province’s plan to steal our subway system risks delaying the Relief Line and transit in Scarborough,” said TTCriders’ Shelagh Pizey-Allen. “We can’t leave new transit lines at the whim of real estate markets. The province needs to fund transit properly, not break it apart.”
The province recently announced that it intends to partner with the private sector to build new stations after taking ownership of Toronto's subway. After Metrolinx announced a similar market-driven approach to building transit in Fall 2018, the provincial agency admitted that reliance on a fluctuating market creates the risk of delays.
“The Yonge Line (Line 1) is already dangerously overcrowded. All three levels of government need to commit to fund the Relief Line as soon as possible, including the Relief Line North extension to Sheppard,” said TTCriders member Yared Mehzenta. “The Relief Line is desperately needed and its northern extension will serve priority neighbourhoods, including Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.”
The Relief Line, which will cost at least $6.8 billion project, is not yet funded.
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CONTACT
Shelagh Pizey-Allen, [email protected]
Yared Mehzenta