Mayor John Tory's executive committee is set to vote Tuesday on the alignment of the Scarborough subway extension, as well as the design of the bus terminal that will serve it.
The committee is expected to OK the recommendations contained in city staff's latest report, which pegs the cost of the subway at $3.35 billion. But opponents of the extension, including both councillors and the public, will get a chance to criticize the plans.
The report recommends using the McCowan alignment to connect Kennedy Station to the Scarborough Town Centre — which is set to be the final and only stop on the 6.5-kilometre long extension.
City staff are also recommending a redesigned bus terminal on Triton Road that would cost $187 million more than a previous iteration, but allow for more development and better pedestrian access to the future subway station.
Scarborough Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker said the costs are high because it's taken the city decades to build new transit in the area. On Monday, he took aim at those who want the subway plan scrapped, or for the city to go back to a light-rail plan for the area.
"People are entitled to their opinions, but they've lost eight times already," he said, referring to the number of times city council has voted in favour of the subway.
"Time for the rest of us to move on and get the job done."
Brenda Thompson, centre, quizzed the mayor about the costs associated with the Scarborough subway extension at news conference last week. Thompson, who represents the groups Scarborough Transit Action and TTCRiders, has been a vocal critic of the subway plan. (John Rieti/CBC)
Coun. Janet Davis said it's "irresponsible" to keep working toward the costly subway, although she expects executive committee will approve it.
"It's shocking to me that we continue to just sink good money after bad on this project, when we should have and could have had an LRT system that would have served more people at significantly less cost," Davis said.
Last summer, Coun. Josh Matlow pushed to have the city reconsider the LRT plan, but was defeated at council. The St. Paul's councillor said he still thinks that's the best option for Scarborough residents and didn't rule out trying to revive it at a future city council meeting.
"I have no hope that the executive committee is going to make the right decision or give the Scarborough transit discussion a fair shake," Matlow said.
"But at city council, you will certainly hear more from me about what I believe is the right plan for Scarborough, the right plan for Toronto."
Currently, just five per cent of the subway's design is finished. It
isn't expected to be complete until 2026, according to the city report.
