TORONTO – The chief executive officer of an Alphabet-backed entity planning a high tech neighbourhood in Toronto says the company may pull out of the project if it can’t get transit built in the neighbourhood.
Sidewalk Labs chief executive officer Dan Doctoroff tells The Canadian Press that the Quayside project will no longer be interesting to his company if transit can’t be built along the 12-acre property on the city’s waterfront where the neighbourhood is being planned.
Sidewalk Labs has been mulling funding a light rail transit line in the area in exchange for a cut of property taxes and developer fees, but the idea has been met with concerns from some councillors and technology critics.
READ MORE: Canadian Civil Liberties Association threatens lawsuit over Sidewalk Labs project
Doctoroff says despite backlash the project has faced, he is still optimistic about it and has seen no evidence that it won’t be built.
Doctoroff says if the plan to fund a transit line in exchange for fees and taxes doesn’t work out, he feels there are a “bunch” of other transit options for his company to use, but he hasn’t narrowed them down yet.
Doctoroff says Sidewalk Labs was not initially aware of how “severe” mobility issues in the area were before, but has since done extensive traffic analysis and learned of the complexities of the area.
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