SUPERLINX SUPPORT
Board of Trade says it’s got public support for regional transit service,
The Toronto Region Board of Trade says there is strong public support for its proposal to create a provincial super-agency responsible for building and operating all transit service in the GTA, Hamilton and Waterloo.
On Wednesday, the board released the results of an Environics Research survey conducted this summer that found 79 per cent of respondents in the region approved of the idea for the hypothetical agency, which the board has dubbed “Superlinx.” The survey found 80 per cent of respondents who rely on transit either strongly or somewhat supported the con- cept, and 77 per cent of drivers said the same. Support was highest in York Region, where 89 per cent said they favoured the plan. Seventy-four per cent of respondents from Toronto were on board.
Speaking at a news conference, board president Jan De Silva argued Superlinx could “offer a path out of our transit wilderness,” by placing responsibility for funding new lines with the province, which is better able to raise money than cities. De Silva said residents’ travel patterns are no longer contained within municipal boundaries, and uploading transit to a regional body under control of the province would create a more seamless system.
“We hope this survey inspires the government to be bold and act as regionally as possible,” she said. The board released its Superlinx proposal l ast November, and was immediately met with pushback from politicians and experts.
They warned that the regional agency, which would be led by a board made of a mix of provincial appointees and elected politicians, would be unaccountable to the public and too removed to make sound decisions about local transit.
“I don’t see for the life of me why someone appointed by the province of Ontario should be deciding on the frequency of the Dufferin bus,” Coun. Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) told the Star at the time.
On Wednesday, transit advo- cacy group TTCriders warned the Superlinx proposal could lead to higher fares and said the best way to improve the region’s transit would be for the province to increase funding for day-to-day service.
The Board of Trade’s push for the Superlinx idea comes as the provincial government explores taking ownership of the TTC’s subway lines. Minister of Transportation John Yakabuski announced the appointment of a special advisory panel to study the upload plan in August. The Conservative government is officially contemplating a much narrower proposal than the wholesale upload proposed by the board, and has stated it is only planning to transfer ownership of Toronto’s subway system to the province.
The government says putting the subway on the province’s books would reduce costs and help build new projects sooner.
Under the Progressive Conservatives’ plan, the TTC would continue operating the lines and collecting fare revenue, and would also retain ownership of the bus and streetcar network. However, the government hasn’t released any terms of reference for the work of the advisory panel. Also, the minister has refused interview requests from the Star to discuss the government’s transit priorities.
De Silva said the board is “applauding what the province is doing, starting with the TTC,” but “we’re going to continue to encourage the province to move more aggressively on something that’s regionally connected.” Environics conducted the survey of 1,000 adults in the GTA, Hamilton, and Waterloo between Aug. 13 and 21, using an online panel weighted for age and gender.