Scarborough transit plan popular: poll

58% support proposal for LRT and one-stop subway extension

More than half of Toronto residents support a new city hall Scarborough transit proposal for a single-station subway extension and a 17-stop LRT, according to a new Forum Research poll.

But in a list of four transit projects, the downtown relief line was seen as the city’s top transit priority, with Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan to put commuters on the Stouffville and Kitchener GO tracks coming in last.

The poll showed that 58 per cent of respondents approved of the Scarborough subway-LRT proposal that would extend the Bloor-Danforth line a single stop to the Scarborough Town Centre and build an LRT to the U of T Scarborough campus.

Although the LRT has been referred to as the Malvern line and the poll question referred to the transit stopping at the Malvern Town Centre, in fact the city proposal would see it terminate on the campus which is south of the Malvern neighbourhood.

Less than a third, 27 per cent, disapproved of the Scarborough plan.

“It appears the very fact of a decision, any decision, on the much discussed Scarborough subway, has had the effect of creating consensus where none existed before. When we see Scarborough agreeing with the rest of the city on its transit needs, an important milestone has been achieved,” said Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff in a news release.

“Meanwhile, the downtown relief is still seen to be the most urgent transit priority we have, and that has been the case for several years,” he said.

Support for the Scarborough plan was fairly consistent across the city with a slightly higher approval by 63 per cent of downtown respondents, compared to 59 per cent in Scarborough and North York, and 53 per cent in Etobicoke.

But when respondents were asked which of four transit projects should be prioritized and built first, the downtown relief line came out on top with 28 per cent support.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT was second with 22 per cent support and the Scarborough transit plan came third at 17 per cent.

Only 10 per cent said SmartTrack was the priority.

There was a wider geographic disparity in support for the various projects.

Where 39 per cent of downtowners favoured the relief line, only 14 per cent of Scarborough residents said it should be built first.

Forty per cent of Scarborough respondents indicated the Scarborough subway-LRT plan should be finished first compared to less than 10 per cent of those who lived downtown and in Etobicoke.

The relief line was also most popular with younger respondents. Thirty-five per cent of those 18 to 34 said it was the priority project. The Scarborough subway-LRT plan has not yet been approved by city council although it was endorsed by the city’s executive committee. No government funding has been designated for the relief line. The Crosstown LRT is already under construction. SmartTrack has been studied by the city and has received some support from the provincial and federal governments.

Forum Research conducted the interactive telephone poll of 908 Toronto residents on Tuesday. It is considered accurate within three percentage points19 times out of 20. The smaller, geographically-based results and those for age and political support are considered less accurate.