Whether or not
you believe the TTC’s most immediate priority is to build subways,
now is the time to comment on extending the Spadina line to the
border of Toronto and York Region. Decisions are being made that
could seriously affect the way transit users move around this
congested part of the city.
Four stations
are proposed for the new addition, and bus terminals are planned at
Steeles Avenues and near the intersection of Finch and Keele. Of
particular note is how the many buses that currently drop passengers
in the heart of campus would have dedicated terminals at Steeles
Avenue.
TTC
commissioner Peter Li Preti, Toronto city councillor for the area
that includes much of the subway extension, is a big proponent of
the plan. He has been closely involved with consultations between
interested parties, including the TTC and York University.
He says many
people attended two recent open houses showing the designs,
especially on campus. He says “People are very skeptical” about more
plans to build a subway, citing previous studies over the last two
decades. “Everybody is waiting for this announcement”, he says,
which will “give confidence back to an area where people had lost
hope in government.”
Will bus riders
from north and west of York campus have to disembark at the Steeles
station and ride one stop into the university? Li Preti says he
thinks yes, the subway “would replace the greatest majority of the
buses” going to the centre of campus, but that university officials
are reviewing their plans.
He doesn’t
believe this will delay the process, but the university’s focus on
getting subway approval is complicating an agreement with the TTC
for interim bus-only lanes to Downsview subway station.
Li Preti “would
be very, very surprised” if the bus line is ready when students
begin school in September 2006. He warns that he holds York
University accountable if the bus-only route is held up. “If I see
that they’re still playing games, then no other developments will go
up at York University until the busway is totally released, and ...
totally in effect.”
One of the key
backers of the subway extension is Vaughan-King-Aurora MPP Greg
Sorbara, who stepped down Monday as provincial finance minister due
to an RCMP investigation. Will this delay approval of the line? Li
Preti says “I don’t think the subway is the byproduct or the child
of any particular politician,” adding, “Surely it would be a
setback, because obviously ... the minister was a strong advocate
for this line.”
What are the
next steps, once public input is considered and the environmental
assessment study is completed? Says the councillor, “I would have to
expect the (Ontario) Minister of Environment to give approval
immediately to this line” followed by garnering government support
to fund the construction.
You can tell
the TTC what you think of the proposals online until October 18. Go
to www.ttc.ca and click on Spadina
Subway Extension, or call 416-338-3333. Ahead: The perspective from
York University.