Council pushes ahead with relief line, but project still unfunded
Ahead of council vote on relief line subway, mayor handed out flyers urging commuters to ask Wynne Liberals to pay for the project.

TheStar.com
May 24, 2017
Ben Spurr

City council has voted to move ahead with planning work for the relief line subway, although it remains unclear who will pay to build the vital but as-yet-unfunded transit project.

In a vote of 42 to 1, councillors endorsed a city report that gave the green light for city and TTC staff to advance the design of the first phase of the relief line, which the TTC has identified as Toronto’s most pressing transit priority.

In a council speech, Mayor John Tory called the vote “a big step forward” for the city’s transit plans. However, he reiterated calls for the province to help pay for the subway, which is currently estimated to cost $6.8 billion and has no firm funding commitment from any level of government.

Tory acknowledged Queen’s Park has invested in Toronto transit in the past but urged them not to turn off the tap now.

“As much as we may be grateful, we’ve moved on. And we’re looking to secure funding for that next wave of transit projects that’s going to help us keep this city livable, build this city, accommodate the people that are coming here let alone the people who are already here, and that is led by the relief line,” he said.

Earlier in the day Tory took his case directly to transit riders by handing out flyers at Pape station that urged commuters to contact their local MPPs and Transportation Minster Steven Del Duca “to let them know that funding for the relief line is a priority.”

The flyers included contact information for Del Duca, who is also the Liberal MPP for the riding of Vaughan.

Del Duca responded with a statement in which he claimed the Liberal government has already “invested more in transit in Toronto than any other government in the province’s history.”

The statement cited more than $10 billion of provincial investments in Toronto LRT projects, the Scarborough subway extension, the Spadina subway extension and the Union Pearson Express.

It also noted that the Liberals plan to increase transit funding to Toronto by doubling the city’s share of gas tax proceeds by 2021. Queen’s Park has also allocated $150 million for relief line planning.

“We’ve proven time and time again that we remain steadfast in our commitment to Toronto transit,” Del Duca said.

As part of the relief line report, councillors also voted Wednesday to proceed with design work for an extension of the TTC’s Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) subway north to Richmond Hill Centre.

The five-stop, 7.4-kilometre Yonge North extension would add passengers to already overcrowded Line 1, and it has long been the city’s position that the relief line must be in place before it goes ahead. That’s because the relief line would divert riders from Line 1 by connecting the eastern arm of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) at Pape with the downtown core. Experts say it must be completed by 2031, which is when Line 1 is expected to reach capacity.

Earlier this month, Mayor Tory stoked controversy when he joined with mayors in York Region to advocate as a bloc for provincial funding for both the Yonge North extension and the relief line and for both projects go ahead at the same time.

Most of the Yonge North extension would be outside Toronto’s borders and city planners have never ranked it within the city’s top 10 transit priorities. But Tory defended the alliance Wednesday, saying that banding together with politicians in the 905 to push for both projects strengthened the city’s position.

“(York Region politicians are) going to be supportive of a relief line. When was the last time you heard of them being supportive of a transit project in Toronto? I think that’s welcome news,” he said.

Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s) moved a motion that would have halted planning for the Yonge North extension. Although the city has stipulated that the province and York Region will reimburse the TTC for any work done on the project, the councillor argued that putting Toronto’s transit agency to work on the project would only distract from the relief line.

“We have a decision to make today. Do we focus on a key priority that all the evidence and all the experts and all of our staff say is a priority?” Matlow asked, accusing the mayor of “playing games” with transit projects.

“Please, focus on the relief line. Let’s get this done.”

Matlow’s motion failed, on a vote of 6 to 37.

The first phase of the relief line would have eight stops and be 7.5 kilometres long. Although there are no firm funding commitments for it yet, the federal government has signalled it is willing to pay up to 40 per cent of the cost of new transit projects. Tory said Wednesday he was examining a “range of options” that the city could use to pay for its share.

As part of the report Wednesday, council also approved a new route for the line that would see it run beneath Carlaw Ave. instead of Pape Ave. south of Gerrard St. E. City. TTC staff plan to report back in 2019 with a refined cost, design, and delivery schedule.

In an effort to ensure the Yonge North project doesn’t unduly sap Toronto transit resources, councillors also voted for motions stipulating the city wouldn’t allow the extension to go ahead unless the relief line “has been fully funded with a firm schedule for completion” and to negotiate “satisfactory cost-sharing agreements” with the province and York Region on the operating costs of the extension which have not yet been finalized.