TORONTO – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may be getting along after all.
The minority Liberals say they’re open to a proposed subway for east-end Toronto, after nixing the proposal just two months ago.
Transportation Minister Glen Murray says he’s “really not fussed” about whether it’s a subway or light rail transit (LRT).
Murray made the comments during a press conference Thursday while announcing construction plans for a new express station linking train service to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and Union Station.
He says the province won’t make any commitments until the city decides definitively if it supports a subway or not.
Either way, Murray indicated the final decision will be made by Queen’s Park.
Toronto Transit Commission chair Karen Stintz expressed an air of optimism to reporters at city hall Thursday on talks with the province about a possible subway extension.
“I do sense a change in tone coming from the minister and that he wants to find a transit plan that meets the needs of the City of Toronto,” Stintz said. “The last thing the province wants to do is to sign a deal to construct a LRT, only to have that deal reviewed at the outcome of the next mayoral race.”
A Globe and Mail report on Thursday said both sides were moving closer to a deal to replace Scarborough’s ageing rapid transit trains with subways.
Sources tell the newspaper the Ontario government and the City of Toronto have been in talks to cancel a previously approved light-rail line and replace it with the mayor’s preferred underground option.
While Ford has insisted on “subways, subways, subways” since his 2010 mayoral campaign, an expert panel last year found light rail would be a better option in Scarborough not only because it’s cheaper but because the suburban area lacks the density to fill a subway line.
The $1.8-billion light-rail plan was part of the province’s $50-billion “Big Move” regional transit strategy. For years, the province has said that if the city prefers pricier subways, it’ll have to find the extra billions itself.
This apparent change of heart comes as Ontario and Toronto remain embroiled in a public spat over a $150 million provincial funding withdrawal the municipality claims will shut down key social programs.
Councillors voted last year to go ahead with a plan to build an above-ground light rail line to replace the aging Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT).
But in an about-face in May, city council voted to extend the Bloor-Danforth subway line through to McCowan Road.
Since then, the provincial transit agency’s chief executive Bruce McCuaig has written a letter to the city stating construction work on the SRT will be stopped if Toronto officials don’t clarify their position by August 2, 2013.
Ward 22 city councillor Josh Matlow says millions of dollars have already been spent on the LRT and switching plans now would cost taxpayers more money for less service.
“What Scarborough will soon find out is that if you live along the line, under the LRT plan, there are seven stops. The subway plan has only three,” Matlow said in an interview.
Replacing the SRT will cost $1.8 billion, but the TTC says building a subway would only cost $500 million more. According to Metrolinx, estimates of the underground option would be $925 million.
The possibility of a subway deal comes as the provincial Liberals enter five key byelections slated for August 1, including one in Scarborough-Guildwood.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
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