York launching PR push for extension of Yonge subway

Campaign kicks off Tuesday with a website, YongeSubwayNow.ca, and a petition.

Thestar.com
July 4, 2016
By Ben Spurr

York Region wants a new subway, and it wants it now.

The regional municipality is ramping up its advocacy for an extension of the TTC’s Yonge subway line into Richmond Hill by launching a public-relations campaign aimed at pressuring the provincial and federal governments to support the controversial project.

According to a draft press release obtained by the Star, the campaign will kick off Tuesday with the unveiling of a “Yonge Subway Now” website. An early version of the site asks the public to sign a petition in support of the extension, and stresses the “urgency” of moving ahead with the transit line.

“By demonstrating widespread public appeal for this critical rapid transit project, local and regional elected officials can step up their efforts to try and secure a long-term financial commitment from both the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario,” it reads.

Additional campaign elements are planned for the coming months and could include advertisements and storefront signage, the draft release said.

The campaign, which York Region Rapid Transit has budgeted at up to $25,000, comes one month after the Ontario government announced $55 million in funding for planning and design work on the proposed 7.4-km, five-stop extension from Finch station to Hwy 7. The line would cost an estimated $4 billion.

In an interview with the Star, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who chairs the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, said the campaign was intended to keep the “momentum” going after last month’s funding announcement.

“The Yonge subway north to Hwy 7 has been talked about for the last number of decades,” Scarpitti said. He called the project “the most justifiable investment in subway expansion in recent history.”

But while Scarpitti and other local officials extol the virtues of the subway plan - including figures that show the line would serve 165,000 riders per day and replace 2,500 daily bus trips - Toronto officials are adamant that the Yonge subway not be extended until a relief line is built to take pressure off the existing TTC network.

That’s because the TTC has projected that the already-crowded Yonge line will reach capacity by 2031, even with planned service improvements that include automatic train control.

The relief line would cost $6.8 billion, according to the latest estimates. It’s not expected to be complete until at least 2031 and is currently unfunded.

TTC Chair Josh Colle said that while it’s York Region’s prerogative to advocate for transit projects it deems necessary, he predicted the Yonge Subway Now campaign will only further politicize transit planning in the GTA.

“It’s well within their right to spend those marketing dollars. I wish we had some of those. We’ll spend ours on transit,” Colle said.

He added that the TTC’s position on the Yonge extension remains the same. “The TTC has been very clear on it - it happens when a relief line happens.”