What we know about city’s transit plans and what it might cost to pay for them
As Toronto council anticipates building a future transit network of heavy rail, subway and light-rail lines, at least $11 billion of the overall plan remains unfunded.
That figure, found in a 329-page report released Tuesday, has left some heads spinning at city hall.
“We can’t afford to build any of this right now,” stressed budget-minded Councillor Gord Perks, saying council’s only option is to get serious quickly about raising property taxes.
The report doesn’t offer insight into how the projects might be funded, even as the report asks councillors to endorse the plan at a series of crucial meetings over the next few weeks. All this leaves more questions than answers ahead.
Here’s what we know so far:
Scarborough
A one-stop subway from Kennedy to Scarborough Town Centre will cost $2.9 billion, while a proposed LRT with at least 17 stops along Eglinton Ave. to the U of T Scarborough campus will cost almost $1.7 billion.
Factoring in costs to extend the life of the Scarborough RT and decommission it later, the total cost tops $4.8 billion, leaving the city $1 billion short.
For the first time, the city has re- vealed that its cost to operate and maintain the subway extension would total $5.49 billion over its 60-year life cycle.
New estimates say the six-kilometre extension could be completed by late 2025, but only if council approves an alignment for it, currently recommended along McCowan Ave., next month. The 10.5-kilometre extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT could be built by late 2023.
Downtown relief line
Deemed a “critical” priority to relieve subway congestion, the DRL would cost $6.8 billion — source unknown.
That’s more than double a 2012 estimate of $3.2 billion. TTC spokesman Brad Ross said the price in today’s dollars ranges upward from $4 billion, depending on the alignment, but is expected to grow to $6.8 billion in the actual years of construction. The eastern portion — likely from Pape Station, along Eastern Ave. to Queen St. into downtown — could be built by 2031 if work begins in 2021. At 7.5 kilometres and eight stations, the line would cost more than $900 million per kilometre.
Fare integration
The city and Metrolinx have been negotiating for months over the complicated issue of how to merge the fare systems of the TTC with GO Transit and nine other GTA transit operators.
The report indicates the city wants Metrolinx to lower GO’s base fare, increase its distance-based fare and subsidize a TTC co-fare that would let TTC riders board GO trains without paying two full fares.
Metrolinx is still studying its options.
Most other transit services charge only a small co-fare for trips connecting to GO trains. Switching between the TTC and GO requires paying two full fares.
Toronto residents currently pay about $75 million a year to subsidize the rides of commuters from neighbouring regions who take the TTC once they get into Toronto. With files from Ben Spurr