Mayor threatens to block subway extension unless province pays for relief line

John Tory says he could move motion next week to halt planning on the Yonge subway extension, a project backed by the Wynne Liberals.

Thestar.com
May 9, 2017
By Ben Spurr

Mayor John Tory is threatening to stop planning work on a transit project favoured by the province unless Queen’s Park commits money to build the relief line subway.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday morning in Riverdale, Tory said he was considering blocking progress on the Yonge subway extension, which would extend the TTC’s Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) subway into York Region.

The project has the backing of local politicians north of Toronto, including influential Liberal cabinet ministers in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

A city report released Tuesday recommends the city and TTC work with Metrolinx and York Region to advance planning and design work for both the Yonge extension and the relief line, with the goal of having both in service by 2031.

But with the province having so far ignored Tory’s pleas to fund the construction of the relief line, which council has designated a top priority, the mayor said he “may have to reconsider” the report’s advice when it goes before his executive committee next Tuesday.

“We’ve got lots to do at the TTC. Heaven’s above, they have all kinds of projects to work on. And if we’re uncertain that the relief line will be funded or not by the province, then why would we be devoting our time working on the Yonge St. north extension?” he said.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca responded with a written statement that noted the provincial government has provided $150 million to study the relief line and $55 million for planning of the Yonge extension.

“We were the only government that came to the table with planning money for both of these projects,” Del Duca said. “However, Mayor Tory just can’t take yes for an answer.”

“By playing politics today and threatening to delay transit projects, the mayor isn’t helping anyone, especially his constituents who want transit built in Toronto.”

Mayor Dave Barrow of Richmond Hill said he wasn’t concerned that Tory’s sabre rattling will derail the Yonge extension. “He’s looking after his city, I get it. But we’re trying to build a regional system here,” Barrow said in an interview. “Working together will get us further.”

Vaughan city councillor Alan Shefman, who supports the Yonge extension, said he was “mad as hell” at Tory’s remarks.

“I think it’s time the minister basically says we can’t allow the TTC to run transit in the GTA,” said Shefman. He said it shouldn’t be up to Toronto which projects get built and the region’s different municipalities should be working together to build transit “where it makes sense.”

“We can’t be squabbling, and we definitely can’t be threatening.”

The Yonge extension would push Line 1 about 7.4 km north from Finch station to the Richmond Hill Centre, and early estimates indicate it would cost about $5.6 billion.

Toronto city council has ruled out paying for the line, and instead York Region and the province would pick up the tab. But because it would be an extension of the TTC subway network, Toronto’s transit agency would be in charge of designing, delivering and operating the project.

That has provided Tory with some leverage in his ongoing dispute with the province, which erupted in January after Wynne blocked council’s road toll plan. The feud was exacerbated last month when the Liberals rejected the mayor’s request to fund new transit projects and social housing repairs in the 2017 budget.

The first phase of the relief line would take pressure off Line 1 by connecting the eastern portion of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to downtown, and city staff have long insisted it must be built before the Yonge extension. That’s because the Yonge extension would add riders to Line 1, which already carries 500,000 passengers a day and is expected to be at capacity by 2031.

On Tuesday, the mayor said his job was to alleviate crowding on the transit system, “not to make it worse.”

“The Yonge St. North extension will only add more passengers to the Yonge St. subway, and without relief, I can’t allow that to happen,” he said.

The report says it would take $90 million and $100 million respectively to advance planning for the Yonge extension and the relief line to the stage of 15- to 30-per-cent design.

The cost for relief line planning would be split between the province and city, while the TTC would be fully reimbursed by York Region and the province for the Yonge extension study. If the studies go ahead, city staff would report back with the results in late 2019.

The report also recommends that council approve a route for the relief line that would see the subway run beneath Carlaw Ave. instead of Pape Ave. south of GO Transit’s Lakeshore East/Stouffville corridor. It would then head west along Eastern Ave., before swerving to run beneath Queen St.

Last July, council conditionally approved a route that followed Pape all the way from Bloor to Eastern, but some local residents opposed the plan and subsequent study determined Carlaw would be less disruptive to the community.

The first phase of the relief line would be about 7.5 km long and is estimated to cost $6.8 billion. No level of government has allocated funding to its construction.

It was one of four projects council submitted to Ottawa to receive funding through a new federal infrastructure fund. The city expects to receive $4.5 billion to $5 billion through the fund over the next decade, but it’s not clear how much of that could go toward the relief line.