[URBAN NOTE] On the John Tory transit plan for Toronto

[rfmcdonald]

The political career of John Tory, who in his appearances here over the past five years has transitioned from being a failed provincial Progressive Conservative leader to becoming a prominent right-leaning candidate in this year's mayoral election (he sat out 2010), hit a landmark when he advanced a plan for mass transit. Adding subway capacity to GO transit routes does appeal, Torontoist's Steve Munro thinks it only a partial solution that doesn't address other critical elements in the city's transit future (and neighbourhoods, too).

The plan is almost entirely about one line—”SmartTrack” in Tory terminology—that would be built mostly on existing GO Transit corridors to link Markham, downtown Toronto, and the Airport Corporate Centre.

“SmartTrack” would serve western Scarborough, southern Toronto, and the centre of Etobicoke—a transit line for everyone, not just those pesky downtowners. Its fundamental premise is that rapid transit should go beyond serving inbound riders, and should make it possible for outgoing commuters to travel to jobs in places beyond the city—places they now reach only by car.

In a clear move to attract subway advocates, the route is described as a “surface subway,” which is a more marketable term than Metrolinx’s “Regional Express Rail” (“RER”). The technology would be electric multiple unit (EMU), which involves regular commuter rail passenger cars that use electric propulsion as the subway does. This technology is used world-wide, but not in Toronto—thanks to GO Transit’s less-than-enthusiastic embrace of electrification.

Even where the line diverges from the existing rail corridors, it would be physically separate from roads, much as the subway is north of Rosedale Station. Eglinton Avenue West includes a wide swath of vacant land originally intended for the Richview Expressway, and this would become the location of the new trains. Effectively, this would replace the proposed western extension of the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT line. “SmartTrack” would not actually enter the airport, but would serve the office areas to the south.

Tory’s campaign pitches this as a full embrace of the “RER Vision,” which would bring Toronto into the same league as London, UK, and other cities with extensive commuter rail networks. This means that Tory looks at transit not as the “TTC” or “GO,” but as one system that should exploit whatever resources are available to move people around the region. That positive outlook is offset by Tory’s continued embrace of the Scarborough Subway, which draws many of its potential riders from the same catchment area as his own regional line. Moreover, Tory plays down the role of a “Downtown Relief Line” and claims that he supported it only as a general idea and never endorsed the specific subway scheme now being studied. He fails to grasp the wider role of the “DRL” as the first stage in a Don Mills subway.