[URBAN NOTE] Good news, bad news, for Toronto subways

[rfmcdonald]

The good? Mayor Rob Ford has come out cautiously supporting the idea of building the Downtown Relief Line that I'd blogged about last week.

When asked by a reporter at a news conference Monday morning about whether he would support prioritizing the downtown relief line (DRL), Ford replied: "It's up to [TTC CEO] Andy Byford."

"I'm open up to the idea that benefits the city, that benefits the users of the TTC. I campaigned on subways," he said.

"We're going to get subways — the relief line, the Sheppard line, Eglinton hopefully will go underground. Subways are coming to the city, one way or another."

Ford's comments come amid renewed interest and speculation about the construction of the downtown relief subway line, which is aimed at easing crowding on the Yonge line. Byford has said the line should be the TTC's next priority. TTC Chair Karen Stintz has also championed the DRL.

The TTC on Wednesday will meet to consider a staff report that calls on provincial agency Metrolinx to prioritize the DRL by setting a 15-year target date for its construction, given ridership in the downtown is projected to grow by more than 50 per cent between now and 2031.

Currently, the DRL is only included in Metrolinx's 25-year plan for construction of new transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. The report estimates the first section of the line, which would run from St. Andrew station on King Street West, along King and then swing north to connect with the Bloor-Danforth line at Pape station, would cost $3.2 billion.

It's not immediately clear how to pay for construction of the new line. Council's executive committee has given the green light for staff to start public consultations on implementing new revenue tools to fund transit expansion in the city and the Greater Toronto Area, although Ford has said he opposes any new taxes or user fees.

Bad news? The actually-ongoing extension north of the Spadina subway line is going to be delayed by at least a year.

The TTC has confirmed that the $2.6 billion Spadina subway extension to Vaughan will open about a year later than originally scheduled.

It will be at least fall 2016 before service begins on the 8.6-kilometre stretch between Downsview Station and the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

The delay is being blamed in part on time lost after a crane operator employed by one of the construction contractors was killed last Oct. 11.That job site was closed until February this year.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has laid four charges against OHL-FCC GP Canada Inc. in connection with the death of Kyle Knox, 24.

Utility relocation has also been more complex than anticipated and “was further compounded by slow response by non-municipal controlled utilities,” according to a report before the Toronto Transit Commission on Wednesday.

But some of the contractors and sub-contractors responsible for tunneling were also slow to get off the mark, says the report.

[. . .]

The TTC has said that the original 2015 opening would be tight. But this summer, transit officials warned they might not be able to recover time lost to the job-site fatality investigation.

The subway was never expected to open in time for the 2015 Pan American Games.

But the delay is almost certain to provoke those who say the TTC should get out of the construction business.