Money for Sheppard East LRT expands city’s commitment to new transit solutions

Ontario’s government announced last week that it would chip in $950 million (Canadian) for the construction of a new light rail transit line in Canada’s largest city, Toronto. The commitment comes in addition to the previously declared appropriations for two other LRT projects and three rapid transit extensions, as well as last month’s exciting news that the city would be investing in 200 new streetcars from Bombardier. Collectively, the news suddenly makes Toronto the North American city with the largest transit expansion program.

The province’s most recent funding commitment will ensure the construction of the Sheppard East LRT line, which will run 15 km east from the Don Mills subway station on the Sheppard heavy rail line. The project — to open in 2013 — is expected to carry 45,000 daily riders, a number that will only increase when the also-funded extension of the Scarborough RT line is completed.

Unlike the large streetcar network that runs downtown, the Sheppard East LRT will operate in its own right-of-way, ensuring fast connections and reliable service times. Some have suggested that an expansion of the Sheppard subway would be preferable considering the high expected ridership, but the choice of light rail is a reflection of economic reality. Toronto has been pushing for a massive multi-line transit expansion called “Transit City” since 2007, and building so many underground lines would cost more than the city or region are able to contribute: the 8.6 km Spadina subway extension, for example, will cost $2.6 billion to build, about four times the per-mile cost as the proposed Sheppard East line.

But LRT in its own right-of-way will offer a high level of service for transit riders, and that’s presumably why the province previously made funds available for the Etobicoke-Finch West corridor, which will run east-west in the northern areas of the city (23 km, $1.2 billion), and the Eglinton Crosstown line (31 km, $4.6 billion), which will provide connections between the airport and Midtown.

Four other lines also delineated by the Transit City proposal — the Jane, Don Mills, Scarborough Malvern, and Waterfront West LRT lines — have yet to be funded by either the city or the provincial governments. But Canada’s ruling conservative party is in trouble politically — it almost lost its minority control over the government in January — so finding federal funds to ensure the completion of the entire Transit City project could prove advantageous in attracting the votes of Toronto’s large electorate. Mayor David Miller, who spearheaded the Transit City program, is a political independent and former member of the leftist New Democratic Party, and could prove a formidable future rival to the conservative government; the same could be said for ambitious Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who is a member of the Liberal Party (center-left).

Funding committed thus far to transit expansion in Toronto over the next five years now reaches over $10 billion even without the LRT projects that have yet to be funded, quite a considerable sum matched by few cities worldwide. What’s perhaps most impressive about Toronto’s plans, though, isn’t their scope, but rather their provisions for the city as a whole. While the city’s two major rapid transit routes focus on the downtown area, these new light rail projects will improve crosstown connections, underprioritized in most metropolitan areas. As a result, instead of simply reinforcing the centrality of the core, Toronto will provide mobility improvements and transit-oriented development possibilities to inhabitants throughout the metropolis.

$9 billion guarantees funding for Eglinton Crosstown LRT

These are big days for transit in Ontario. Just five days ago, the province pledged $3 billion to spend on public transportation stimulus as part of a major infrastructure package. Then two days ago, Ontario announced that it would combine GO Transit and Metrolinx, the regional planning organization. Yesterday, however, came the biggest news yet: the province will spend $7.2 billion boosting Toronto’s plans for transit expansion and $1.4 billion implementing dedicated bus lanes in the surrounding suburbs.

The biggest component of the project will be the $4.6 billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT project, the single largest part of the city’s ambitious Transit City program. Connecting both of the city’s subway lines and running on an east-west alignment to the airport, the 31 km line is expected to carry more than 50 million passengers annually by 2021. In a 10 km central section of the line, the project will run underground to avoid major disruptions to the densely developed Midtown area. It will be the second major crosstown route in the city, which currently lacks a rapid transit connection between areas in the northeastern and northwestern sectors. If the project stays on schedule, it would be completed by 2016.

Funding is to be made available for the $1.2 billion 23-km Etobicoke-Finch West LRT line, in the far northern sections of the city. It will provide a rapid street-running east-west connection. $1.4 billion will also be distributed to the renovation and expansion of the Scarborough RT line, which would be completed by 2015 and improve connections in the northeast sections of the region. The $1.4 billion pledged to bus lanes will build 30 km of bus rapid transit on Highway 7 and Yonge Street for Viva Transit. These are currently the suburban system’s two major routes, and they’ll be significantly sped up by the improvements.

Though the province did not confirm funding for the entire Transit City proposal, this announcement marks a significant step towards improved transit in the rail and bus-reliant Toronto region. The monetary commitment confirms that the province sees itself as playing the principal role in establishing transit connections, a role once reserved for the city itself, and likely is the first step towards regional integration of the Toronto Transit Commission, though that step is likely a few years away.

Image above: Eglinton Crosstown LRT Plan, from City of Toronto

Ontario’s GO Transit and Metrolinx to be combined into one agency

In the Toronto region, the Toronto Transit Commission provides transit service within the city and GO Transit, a separate agency, runs buses and commuter rail throughout the rest of the region, from Hamilton in the west to Oshawa in the east. Today, an agency called Metrolinx serves as a master planner, deciding which transit lines will be built and how much to subsidize each service, though the two other agencies contribute to the discussion with their own projects and plans. Yesterday, however, Ontario Transport Minister Jim Bradley announced that the province would attempt to legislate a merger between GO Transit and Metrolinx into a broader agency that would have the power both to plan transport services and to provide them. The TTC, under the direct control of the city of Toronto, will remain separate.

The province makes a good point in arguing that consolidating transit planning and service provision will provide better, more efficient transit and quicker implementation of major projects. I’ve pointed out in the past that major discombobulation between transit agencies and a regional planner produces difficulties for average riders attempting to use the systems and ultimately slows down project completion timetables.

The merger, for all its good aspects, is problematic in its proposed execution. Regional chairs who currently sit on the board of Metrolinx would be replaced by transportation “experts” who supposedly would make better decisions about how to invest limited funds. The change in policy is an open challenge to local politicians who want to have a say in how transit is used in their areas. The city of Toronto, which is the biggest contributor of funds towards regional planning, would lose out in the process as it would lose political authority over the agency, though the new vice-chair of the agency promises that “the new body will consult with all the stakeholders.” How believable is that?

While they are advantages of having “experts” control the decision-making process, ultimately, politicians should be determining how to use public funds; otherwise, these public bodies cease to be democratic organisms. We have a collective responsibility to keep public decisions as democratic as possible, so let’s hope to see these merger plans altered over the next few.

But Canadian province doesn’t explain exactly where the money will go

Two years ago, Toronto introduced its Transit City plan, which would provide 120 km of light rail lines in the city, largely replacing existing well-used bus lines and supplementing the two major lines of subway service currently offered by the Toronto Transit Commission. In addition, both the Yonge and Spadina branches of the subway would be extended north into York County.

Yesterday, the province of Ontario announced that it would spend $27.5 billion on infrastructure projects over the next two years to act as a recession-fighting stimulus. This amount includes $3 billion for transit. The funds, however, were not designated to specific projects in the province’s plan; they have not been specifically earmarked for the Transit City proposal, which is construction-ready but yet to be funded. It’s unclear if the money will be spent on the light rail lines, the subway extensions, or some other, yet to be announced program. The Canadian federal government has yet to make an announcement on its stimulus program.

Toronto’s Globe and Mail discussed the news. “Toronto Mayor David Miller dismissed skeptical questions from reporters and praised the government for a ‘massive investment’ in infrastructure, saying he is confident Toronto will get its fair share and his light-rail transit expansion plans will be funded. ‘Can’t you take good news as good news? This is good news,’ Mr. Miller said.” Transit City’s seven lines are expected to be completed in stages between 2012 and 2017, with construction beginning next year.

Though Ontario’s announcement lacks specificity, the Liberal administration there is far more proactive than the conservative government leading Canada as a whole, which has been dragging its feet relentlessly on whether to build a high-speed rail line between Québec and Windsor. Canadian provinces, which are as independent as U.S. states, have a higher degree of control over expenditures, which explains why Ontario is capable of making such a large spending proposal without federal support.

With the American government constrained in its ability to expand its spending because of concerns about budget deficits on the part of Democratic moderates in the Senate, perhaps it is time for the more progressive states to consider expanding their revenue sources for the benefit of such infrastructure projects. In transit, for instance, while it may be easy to rely on Washington for New Start funds, the consequence is too frequently a political game, where cities must jump through hoops to get their projects paid for, especially during conservative administrations. If states were to play a bigger funding role, by assuming more of the payment obligations on capital costs, transit expansion would probably occur more rapidly.

Image above: Toronto Transit City, from Toronto Transit Commission