It means replacing an ultra-modern light rail line, complete with seven new stations — entirely paid for by the province — with a more expensive subway, with three new stations, serving fewer areas of Scarborough. That translates into a big convenience gap. Only 24,000 Scarborough residents and employees would be within walking distance of the proposed subway. In contrast, 47,000 would be within walking distance of the light rail line. But never mind, people still love subways.
The underground option would also require a city-wide property tax increase. Just how much remains unclear because the subway’s final costs, and even its ridership, aren’t well-established.
In fact, uncertainty is the main trait of the underground route. The Scarborough subway can’t proceed without a major injection of federal funding but no one knows what, or when, Ottawa might pay. Mayor Rob Ford met with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Saturday and received only vague assurances. “No one is nailing down any particular number,” the mayor told reporters Monday.
Ford and council’s other subway proponents also count on receiving the entire $1.8 billion that Queen’s Park had budgeted for Scarborough light rail. But $85 million of that has already been spent working on the rail plan. Furthermore, the province has revised what it’s willing to commit, reducing the total to $1.48 billion. So who is going to fill this $320-million hole?
And while Ontario would have owned and operated the light rail line, assuming all ongoing costs, Toronto is on the hook for running the subway. It expects some yet-to-be-quantified compensation.
City manager Joe Pennachetti recommended a property tax increase of between 1.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent, over three years, if a subway is chosen — starting with a minimum 0.5 per cent tax bite next year. Ford immediately undercut that, saying he could support a hike of only half as much for 2014. So who is going to pay what?
Despite all this uncertainty, city council must choose between a subway or Scarborough light rail at a meeting that starts on Tuesday. A decision to go underground will immediately halt all work on a light rail line of proven benefit to area residents, plunging transit into a limbo of vague commitments and intergovernmental nattering. That would be an exceedingly poor choice. But many politicians, at the city and provincial level, are convinced this bad policy is what people in Scarborough want. Regrettably, with elections looming, they’re ready to provide it.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Editorial
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