Finch LRT to be complete in 2021, before Sheppard breaks ground
Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca says there’s limited capacity for so many transit projects.

TheStar.com
April 27, 2015
Tess Kalinowski

The province says that shovels will finally go in the ground next year on the oft-postponed, 11-km Finch West LRT.

But its east-end counterpart, the Sheppard East LRT won’t begin construction until at least 2021, when the $1.2-billion Finch line is estimated to be complete.

“Sheppard East is still in our plan. We will build it,” Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca told a news conference at Humber College on Monday.

“There is a capacity of the amount of infrastructure work you can put into the system to have built at the same time. We have to constantly consider what is the best position for us to make sure that we co-ordinate the construction of these multiple projects which are not small,” he said.

The province is building the $5.3 billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT and, last week, it announced $1.6 billion for the 23-km. Hurontario-Main LRT in Brampton and Mississauga by 2022.

The revised schedule for Sheppard came as a surprise, said councillor Josh Colle (open Josh Colle's policard), who chairs the TTC. But, “This is really good news today that we’re seeing Finch built,” he said.

Originally Finch was to be complete in 2015; Sheppard in 2013. After the global economic crisis in 2010, they were postponed to 2019 and 2014, respectively.

By the time the city and province signed an LRT master agreement in November 2012, Finch was slated to begin construction in 2015 for a 2020 completion; Sheppard was to start in 2017 with service by 2021.

“Metrolinx and the City of Toronto continue to have ongoing discussions about the master agreement to reflect any updates that have occurred since it was signed,” said a spokesman for Del Duca.

“It seems like they want to delay the Sheppard LRT to the point of killing it,” said Brenda Thompson, a Scarborough member of the transit users’ group, TTCriders.

But not everyone is in favour. “We would rather stick with buses that are faster and more reliable and safer than have an LRT line which will cause havoc to our area and ensure we lose out on the myriad of opportunities a subway brings,” said Patricia Sinclair, of the Sheppard Subway Action Coalition.

The 11-km, 18-stop Finch line is forecast to carry about 14.6 million rides a year or 40,000 a day by 2031. The 13-km Sheppard LRT will provide 49,316 rides a day or 18 million a year. The Hurontario LRT is projected to carry about 33 million a year by 2031 while the TTC King streetcar already provides about 60,000 rides a day.

“This (Finch) transit line will not take out a lane of traffic. This transit line will not limit or hamper commercial truck traffic,” said Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard), countering opposition to the LRT by some city councillors including Giorgio Mammoliti (open Giorgio Mammoliti's policard) (Ward 7, York West).