The Pembina Institute writes about what to look for in a new Toronto transit plan

Our friends at the Pembina Institute have been preparing for the unveiling of

a new hybrid transit plan for Toronto by considering possible scenarios of what a compromise between Transit City and the proposed subway plan might look like, what it should look like, and what's best for Toronto. Pembina’s Cherise Burda looks at what a compromise transit plan must consider in her recent blog post What to look for in a new Toronto transit plan. A quick summary is below: 1. Is it cost-effective? With limited funds available for transit for the next ten years, a plan should aim to bring rapid transit to the doorsteps of as many Torontonians as possible. 2. Does the plan include Finch? The Finch West 36 is currently the busiest bus route in Toronto and it will only get busier. The current bus service cannot support the demand; Finch needs rapid transit with greater capacity and frequency. 3. Is it fiscally responsible — now and in the long term? For subways to be cost-effective they require rush hour ridership of 10,000 to 15,000 passengers per hour per direction, depending on frequency of service. For LRT lines to be cost effective they require at least 3,000 to 5,000 riders at peak.

Cost-effectiveness of Sheppard East	LRT (Phase 1)	Subway
Length (km)	12	8
Cost ($2010 billions)	$1.0	$2.9
Cost per km ($2010 millions)	$85	$360
# of projected rush hour commuters/hour/direction	3,100	5,300
Peak ridership required to be cost effective	3,000 - 5,000	10,000 - 15,000

4. What about Eglinton? Construction could start right away on the 11-kilometre underground section of Eglinton - we have already bought and paid for the boring machines for this work. However, the whole point of Eglinton Crosstown is to create a complete link across the city. The eight kilometers of above-ground rail should be included in a new plan, otherwise we will end up with a tunneled section that doesn’t actually go "crosstown" to Kennedy or connect to the west toward Pearson in Phase Two. 5. Can we get shovels in the ground right away? Clearly, one of the positive aspects of the Transit City plan was that much of the groundwork had already been done on the four priority transit lines, including time-consuming environmental assessments. Toronto is in a transit deficit, and we cannot afford to cancel plans in motion and delay transit construction. For that reason, a new transit plan should prioritize certain lines where construction can start immediately, such as the Eglinton Crosstown. Click here to read Cherise’s full post on the Pembina Institute's website: What to look for in a new Toronto transit plan

The Pembina Institute writes about what to look for in a new Toronto transit plan

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