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FeedTransit plan races forward
Light rail will soon link our area to the rest of the GTA
SHELLEY CARROLL-Ward 33 Councillor
AND SO, THE massive program of transit construction begins. In just three years, the Toronto transit system introduced a plan that would connect the downtown to both the inner and outer suburbs. Within that same amount of time, the province set up a regional transit decision-making body. Funding for the system has also been secured, starting with an infusion of $9 billion.
Such grand scale thinking has historically taken far longer. When municipalities and other orders of government must intersect, such planning has been known to take 20 years. But on April 1, the premier announced that Metrolinx would oversee the construction of major components of the Transit City Light Rail Transit Network and now the hard work can begin.
As work begins on this new system, residents must keep their eye on the prize, namely connection to long disadvantaged communities and enhanced value of all surrounding areas. There will be long years of construction. The Eglinton Crosstown Line, for instance, stretches from Etobicoke to Scarborough, crossing every legacy city in the new Toronto, including tunnelling from Keele to Leslie.
As Metrolinx takes the lead on the project, our role as local Toronto residents will be to speak up for properly designed systems, suitable traffic management and street enhancements for resident pedestrians. In short, the value of our properties must be enhanced, not detracted from by these transit improvements.
Civic engagement in the final stages of the planning process must be upheld. Toronto City Council, while it has been removed from the newest configuration of the Metrolinx board, will need to actively engage its local residents to ensure a truly great system and not one that is merely efficient.
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