City opens wallet for $1.65M to study SmartTrack plan
Ford spars with mayor, calls his transit project a ‘fancy streetcar plan’
Council voted 42-2 Tuesday to spend $1.65 million more to study Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan.
Though the vote was narrowly focused on where to study the proposed line and how much money is needed, Tuesday’s debate again framed the issue as a referendum on the very idea of SmartTrack.
Earlier, council approved up to $750,000 to study the above-ground line, which would stretch from Mississauga through Union Station to Markham. That vote passed with only Councillor Rob Ford’s opposition, in what was considered the first major victory for Tory, who promised to build the line as his marquee campaign plank.
The mayor twice found himself squaring off with colleagues on the council floor, with prodding from Councillors Giorgio Mammoliti and Ford.
Mammoliti argued that North York residents in his ward have been given the “scraps” of transit planning, saying a planned and approved LRT along Finch Ave. is not good enough.
Ford, meanwhile, equated the above-ground line, which would run primarily on existing GO train tracks, with both streetcars that run on St. Clair Ave. and LRTs such as the one being built on Eglinton Ave.
“The mayor is disingenuous to the taxpayers of this city,” Ford said, arguing Eglinton Ave. will be “torn up” by the west end of Tory’s SmartTrack. “It’s a fancy streetcar plan.” SmartTrack is a heavy rail plan, which employs neither streetcars nor light rail vehicles. The money approved for the studies will look at the Eglinton Ave. W. section proposed to reach out of the Airport Corporate Centre.
A motion by Ford that would have essentially killed the studies failed to gain support.
Speaking to media reporters just ahead of the vote to approve the studies, Tory said SmartTrack would not be derailed.
“At the end of the day, I’m not a punching bag,” he said about his exchange with Ford. “I’ve received a mandate from the people, I have this job, I have the responsibility to deliver for them and I think when people are making suggestions that are just, frankly, patently false and misleading to the voters, I have an obligation to at least stand up and say, ‘That’s not true.’ ”
At council Tuesday morning, Tory and a majority of councillors voted against requesting more information about the Scarborough subway, after a line of questioning submitted by Councillor Josh Matlow failed to go beyond the chamber floor. Deputy Mayor Glenn De Baeremaeker, who was appointed by Tory to represent Scarborough and advocate on behalf of the subway, accused Matlow of trying to “sabotage” the process.
“Scarborough deserves a subway just like everybody else,” he told reporters at council this morning, arguing residents and councillors had the facts they needed to make that decision in 2013 and now.
Matlow had submitted five lines of questioning to council on the costs and number of riders projected for the proposed subway line.
On Monday night, city manager Joe Pennachetti responded to those questions, which highlighted how much remains unknown — including what it will cost to operate the subway each year. That number is not factored into the estimated $3.56 billion in project construction costs.
On Tuesday, Matlow told council that three of his inquiries needed further consideration. He asked council to forward those questions to the executive committee. All three of those requests failed — resulting in a tie, a vote of 18-24 and a vote of 14-28.
De Baeremaeker’s motion to simply receive all five questions — essentially shelving them — passed 36-6.
Matlow found consistent support with two executive members, Councillors Ana Bailao and Mary-Margaret McMahon, but not with Tory.
“Today was about, ‘Do I want to see facts or not?’ ” Matlow said afterwards. “To my colleagues who said that they want to make fact-based, informed decisions — I thank them. To my colleagues who decided to turn a blind eye to the facts or didn’t seem to be interested in learning more, I would encourage them to do better.”
On Tuesday afternoon, councillors debated three motions related to potential Toronto District School Board school closures on Tuesday afternoon, which Tory has also made a priority.
One motion that was forwarded by Councillor Paula Fletcher looks to identify child-care centres that could be at risk. Another, from Councillor Mike Layton, asks the Ministry of Education to expand the scope of how facilities are selected and consider the schools as “community hubs.” With files from David Rider