Time for a major rethink

The arguments against building the controversial Scarborough subway extension just keep rolling in and adding up.

The latest? The city could be on the hook for an additional $165 million in costs for the ill-conceived $3.56-billion project.

That’s because the Building Industry and Land Development Association, better known as BILD, is arguing it should not have to pay development charges totalling that amount for the extension because planning justifications for it are flawed, ridership numbers have been exaggerated, and the city failed to spell out the operating costs for the subway as required by provincial legislation.

As reported by the Star’s Jennifer Pagliaro this past week, the association is making its case before the Ontario Municipal Board, which deals with land and development disputes. If it wins, taxpayers would have to pick up BILD’s share of the subway costs.

But whether it wins or not, its argument is one more reason why city council should reconsider its decision to extend the subway and revert to its original well-thought-out plan to build light rail transit in Scarborough.

The Star has long argued that there is no sound business case for proceeding with the Scarborough subway extension.

And there is plenty of controversy over how council came to make the subway decision, which critics say was aimed at winning votes, not providing the best transit service for the people of Scarborough.

First off, the subway should never have even been on city council’s agenda after it had already given the green light to an LRT. The flip-flop was approved by city council in a May 2013 vote permitted in violation of official procedures.

As rushed and improper as the decision was, it had huge repercussions, giving the go-ahead to a threestop subway extension over an already approved — and fully costed — seven-stop light rail system that would have put new transit within walking distance of many more people.

Second, the project, which will cost $2 billion more than the earlier approved light rail system, will also add a total of at least $1,200 in property taxes over 30 years onto the average Toronto household. (Taxpayers are also on the hook for an estimated $85 million which the flip-flop cost in lost work on the original project.)

Third, the official analysis used to justify the extension was done in a rush without due diligence. Indeed, Toronto’s chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, described it as “very, very chaotic” and “suboptimal.” The result was an unreliable ridership estimate of 14,000 riders per hour, in each direction, during peak service, up from the original estimate of 9,500 passengers.

If that wasn’t enough to give city council cause to take a second look, there’s also the troubling overlap between Mayor John Tory’s $8-billion SmartTrack plan and the Scarborough subway that has yet to be resolved. That makes going ahead with the extension even more ill-judged.

Despite all this and BILD’s case before the OMB, Tory is unwilling to take a second look at the decision to extend the subway line.

He told the Star’s editorial board on Tuesday that the decision to build a subway rather than cheaper light rail transit doesn’t turn only on ridership numbers. And, he said, taking another look at the decision could delay bringing any kind of rapid transit to the area by years.

Considering the years of delays and huge cost overruns in completing the Spadina extension, a rethink of the decision to build the Scarborough line could be a bargain, in both time and cost. Never mind that a seven-stop LRT will serve residents better than an underused, three-stop subway extension.

It’s time city council added up the costs of its hasty flip-flop. It’s not too late to revert to its original sound plan and save billions while providing better service to Scarborough transit riders.

There is plenty of controversy over how council came to decide to extend the Scarborough subway instead of building light rail transit