That’s the hope behind a burgeoning movement spearheaded by some of the same folks who did in Doug Ford’s port lands fantasy. That battle dealt the mayor his most dramatic council defeat to date, and transit activists now hope to stage a repeat.
“It would be amazing to emulate the success of Code Blue,” says Laurence Lui, a transportation planner and one of a core of urban experts who set the Blue campaign in motion. Now he’s working to kick-start, Code Red, a movement to resurrect Transit City.
The mayor has promised to ditch Transit City’s multiple light rail lines and replace them with a Sheppard subway and an underground Eglinton Crosstown LRT, both of which are prohibitively expensive and would serve fewer people than David Miller’s extensive light rail network.
“We need to put a halt to this unnecessary, unaffordable and irresponsible transportation plan by Mayor Ford,” says Lui.
The transit and port lands issues are similar: both Transit City and the waterfront plans defended by Lui and others were founded on years of planning and had funding commitments from multiple levels of government. Both turned out to be vulnerable to death by a wave of the mayor’s hand.
Code Red is still in its infancy, but will likely mimic Blue’s tactics: social media conversations (under the hashtag #CodeRedTO) will bring together experts and interested parties, first online, then in public meetings. Meanwhile, a marketing-savvy education campaign and petition blitz will spread the word to the public and council.
Lui hopes Code Red, like his earlier effort, will be an umbrella organization, bringing together pro-Transit City groups like the Toronto Environmental Alliance, the Rocket Riders and the newly launched Save Transit City website.
The group has had one small meeting and plans to start soliciting online feedback on a mission statement this week.
A flashpoint for Code Red could come as early as February, when Gordon Chong’s report on funding for the Sheppard subway goes before the city executive. Incredibly, it will be the first time that any aspect of the mayor’s multi-billion-dollar transit plan comes to a vote at City Hall, and if the report is as unfavourable as expected, Code Red could find fertile ground.
The group’s cause will be helped by what appears to be the continued deterioration of Ford’s transit vision. First came revelations that killing Transit City could cost the city at least $65 million in cancellation fees – essentially money for nothing.
Then news broke this week that the additional $2 billion cost of burying the Eglinton Crosstown (which would have been partly above ground under Transit City) has, at $8.2 billion, made it the most expensive infrastructure project in the country.
Chong, the man Ford hired to find private funding for the $4.2-billion Sheppard subway line, says the private sector likely could only cover 10 to 30 per cent of its cost.
Some close to Ford are balking. The mayor’s deputy speaker, Councillor John Parker, recently told the media that the 25-kilometre Eglinton Crosstown will be “the goofiest LRT line known to man” if it’s put underground.
But while Ford’s subway is starting to look about as impractical as a giant Ferris wheel on the waterfront, Code Red will likely have a harder time than Code Blue forcing the mayor to back down.
Unlike the waterfront scheme, which was unexpectedly sprung on the mayor by his brother, Ward 2 Councillor Doug Ford, delivering subways was a key part of Rob Ford’s election platform.
A compromise palatable to a majority of council would be required to salvage any part of Transit City. But while the need for consensus means Code Red activists may not get everything they want, that’s a price Lui is willing to pay.
“Let’s work from where we were [with Transit City]: approved and funded Sheppard rapid transit, approved and funded Finch rapid transit,” he says.
“What we need to revive is smart transit and transportation planning. Virtually all transportation policy in this city is currently politically driven. It’s ridiculous.”
Original Article
Source: NOW
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