Metrolinx needs people to trust its plans
Big number: $60,997, the median household income in neigh- bourhoods in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto, well below the citywide median household income of $102,271. Last week, Metrolinx reneged on a deal to build a community arts hub in the neighbourhood.
Here’s a quick list of things a public agency like Metrolinx needs to successfully build major transit projects. They need detailed plans. They need billions of dollars. They need various equipment to dig very big holes. And they need trust.
Metrolinx needs neighbourhoods affected by the construction of new transit projects to trust them. They need trust not only because they’re a provincial agency asking us to give them a continuous green light to spend an unfathomable amount of public money, but a also a because they’re asking people to buy into their vision for neighbourhood transformation. Metrolinx needs people to believe their transit projects will improve the lives of those that will live near them, and not just tear up streets and make way for highprice condos.
Metrolinx as not been great at this trust part. The latest example comes from Jane and Finch, where residents have long been told Metrolinx would donate land at Finch Avenue West and York Gate Boulevard for use as a community hub and arts centre.
Last week, the Star’s Ben Spurr reported that Metrolinx had seemingly altered the deal, indicating instead that it would sell the land to the highest bidder. The move quickly provoked outrage. Community members had spent years advancing this plan — ww they had a business plan and even ren dered images of what the community hub could look like.
It would have been a boon for a community that needs investment. aatt The median house hold a ag mm income in the neighbourhoods around Jane and Finch is $60,997, according to figures collected in the latest census. That’s well below the citiwide figure of $102,721. By percentage of the population, more people living in this part of the city are under 25 years old than live in there st of city. Almost 60 percent are immigrants. Nearly 80 per cent are out promised linx has tried to walk back and clean up its position in recent days. Metrolinx president and CEO Phil Verster issued a letter on Friday apologizing to Coun. Anthony represents the area.
In the letter, Verster says Metrolinx committed to the idea of a community hub a few years back “without proper approvals.” Whoops.
He also says Metrolinx remains committed to seeing a community hub built in the perhaps through its “Transit Oriented Communities program that could sale of the land made con- tingent on the developer including a hub in its plans.
That could be an acceptable outcome, but the damage has been done. The Jane Fin ch community will rightly regard any further promises from Metrolinx with a huge amount of skepticism. Maybe they could be more forgiving By if this were the first time Metro linx has screwed up like this, but it’s not.
Metrolinx’s much-touted Presto smart card technology was riddled with bugs and has been ridiculously slow to roll like the to pay fares with debit and a credit cards. Davenport residents were promised the rail bridge built through their community would come with a super cool mural, but then the mural was cancelled. The Eglinton Crosstown has been delayed twice, devastating businesses along the route struggling with construction.
The Finch West LRT, the precursor to the community arts hub, has also been pushed back twice from its original 2021 date — it’s now set for 2023.
With this track record, it’s no wonder some Leslieville es dents are wary of plans for an Ontario Line project that is supposed to run as frequently as every 90 seconds on a narrow above-ground rail corridor through their community. And s no wonder that ough residents, who have seen their promised transit improvements pushed all the way back to 2029 or 2030, are tic al that Metrolinx wil ever deliver them a better transit commute to work.
For Metrolinx, trust matters. Without it, it risks sabotaging the t GTA’s transit future. There’s no doubt more transit infrastructure is needed, but too many broken promises will make transit proposals politically toxic as neighbourhoods respond to all plans with fierce opposition. If that happens, it won’t matter how good Metrolinx is at drawing up plans, spending money or digging holes. Their trains go nowhere without trust.