An urgent need for downtown relief line in Toronto, says TTC CEO

TORONTO – A downtown relief line may be the next priority project for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as the two officials at the head of the TTC say it is urgently needed.

“Well I’ve said pretty much since the day I got here, that a downtown relief line is a high-priority for Toronto,” said Andy Byford, CEO of the TTC. “There is an urgent need, I think, to provide additional subway capacity downtown.”

The proclamations were made on Monday as TTC officials, the Mayor and MP Julian Fantino hailed the completion of first 1.6 kilometres of the Spadina subway extension that will bring commuters to and from York Region.

While the ceremony was officially hailing the Spadina subway, the focus quickly became the downtown relief line.

“We also need to think about a downtown relief line, and how we’re going to be able to move people into the downtown core, because we know the York-University-Spadina line is at capacity,” said TTC Chair Karen Stintz. “I think what we need to do is look forward as a city, and as a region, and think about what is our next infrastructure project and where our next subway project should be.”

Despite TTC officials asserting the urgent necessity of a downtown relief line, some experts suggest that light-rail transit (LRT) may suffice.

In an interview with Global News about the Sheppard subway, Andre Sorensen, associate professor of Geography at the University of Toronto Scarborough, says neighbourhoods need a population density of 10,000 people per square kilometre or more to support a subway.

According to maps generated by Global News, many of the neighbourhoods south of the Bloor-Danforth line are among the densest in Toronto – hovering close to, or above 10,000 people per square kilometre.

SOUND-OFF: What do you think of a downtown relief line? Is it necessary? Or should the city focus on building transit to bring people in from the suburbs? Let us know by visiting Global Toronto on Facebook and joining the discussion.