Premier Ford is
considering dropping his plans to take over the TTC subway. This could be a huge win for riders. But there's a big catch.... Ford is asking Mayor John Tory to approve and spend billions on the Ontario Line, even though many details about the plan are unknown and the existing plan for the Relief Line is nearly shovel-ready.
City Council hasn't said yes.... yet.
3 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION:
1. Send a message to Mayor Tory. Use the form above to tell City Council: don't approve a bad deal for riders.
2. Show up to the October 23 Executive Committee meeting with TTCriders, residents, and organizations. We'll be at the Executive Meeting to speak directly to Mayor Tory. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/KzeuvbRxsvVxUkYCA.
3) Volunteer with TTCriders on Tuesday Oct. 15 to call TTCriders supporters about this issue.
KEY POINTS TO ADD TO YOUR MESSAGE:
No backroom deals
Transit planning should be democratic and transparent, but negotiations over the subway upload have been happening behind closed doors. Unlike the TTC, provincial agency Metrolinx not have any elected officials on its board and members of the public can’t speak at their meetings.
No more delays
Premier Ford’s upload legislation, Bill 107, has delayed rapid transit in Toronto. Years of work and millions of dollars have been spent by the City of Toronto planning the Relief Line, a desperately-needed expansion that is nearly shovel-ready. The proposed Ontario Line vehicles would not be usable on existing TTC subway tracks - this would require building a new yard to store the different rail vehicles, which would cause more delays. The province has also not explained why it has taken Eglinton East LRT and Waterfront LRT off their map.
Respect community concerns
Neighbourhoods along the proposed Ontario Line are concerned about safety, environmental, and noise impacts. Many of these neighbourhoods were part of consultations about the Relief Line and are concerned about wasting the work and the delays to transit. Real community consultation is needed on transit projects.
Keep transit public
Premier Ford wants to build the Ontario Line as a public-private partnership, even though privatized projects cost more and are less accountable to residents. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that Ontario would have saved $8 billion if infrastructure projects had been delivered publicly. Mayor Tory and City Council have voted to keep Toronto’s transit system under local, public control: City Council should continue to stand up for riders and ask the province to repeal Bill 107.
Real evidence
Transit experts have criticized Metrolinx’s business case document about the Ontario Line because it only compares the southern section of the Relief Line with the Ontario Line route. Experts say that some of Metrolinx's claims about the Ontario Line are not realistic, such as 90-second train frequency and rapid changes in elevation. Toronto’s City Manager raised 61 questions about the Ontario Line; many of them have not been answered, including questions about costing. At the September 24 2019 TTC Board meeting, CEO Rick Leary raised questions about the Ontario Line capacity, suggesting that the line may reach full capacity in only 35 years.
Accessible
A new transit project is a chance to get accessibility right. All new stations must be fully accessible, not just with elevators, but with proper signage and audio messages that provide safe travel for all. There must be adequate staffing to reflect the need to respond to emergencies for persons with physical and sensorial impairments. People with disabilities should be involved and hired in design stages to get accessibility right.
Affordable
Could the Ontario Line be another Union Pearson Express, which costs an additional fare to ride? There have been no guarantees from Metrolinx or the provincial government that the Ontario Line fares will be integrated with the TTC for a single fare. Metrolinx is considering introducing pay-by-distance and pay-by-speed. This would hurt riders who have long commutes, especially residents in Etobicoke and Scarborough.