Scarborough subway debate sets off intense lobbying efforts from mayor, private interests
Written by: Jennifer Pagliaro
The mayor, private interests and members of the public have launched an organized lobbying effort for a one-stop subway extension in Scarborough as the project faces scrutiny over ballooning costs.
Those efforts come as Mayor John Tory’s executive committee meets Tuesday to discuss the now estimated $3.35 billion extension, with necessary costs for construction financing and other components expected to bump that estimate even higher.
Over the weekend, Tory travelled to northeast Scarborough with both newly elected Councillor Neethan Shan (Ward 42 Scarborough-Rouge River) to speak to the Tamil community about the subway, and meet with residents in Councillor Chin Lee’s neighbouring Ward 41 (Scarborough-Rouge River).
On Friday, Tory ended a week of questions over the subway extension vowing to get it built but refusing to say whether he will support it at any cost.
“I’m not going to allow it, if I have anything to do with it, for it to be delayed by purely political considerations as it has been delayed for years,” Tory told reporters. “We’re going to build this subway to Scarborough because it is a great long-term investment for jobs and an investment in people living in Scarborough and across the City of Toronto and we will do it for as little money as possible.”
Shan himself has organized several community outreach events in the past days, including a planned “day of action” in his ward on Tuesday which he told the Star will involve at least 10 volunteers updating residents about the most recent staff report.
“The second part is also to get the community members who are supportive — or not — to be able to have their voices heard,” said Shan, who ran in the recent Ward 42 by-election on a promise to push for the subway.
Despite the subway not reaching his ward and the need for his residents to be bused further to get to the proposed Scarborough Town Centre station, Shan said that line is the first priority before the planned but still unfunded 17-stop LRT that would travel along Eglinton Ave. E. to the University of Scarborough campus. That line could be extended to Malvern — something Shan says he plans to advocate for.
“That line would be my second priority after the Scarborough subway extension,” he said. “Malvern has been underserved for many, many decades.”
Shan estimated his residents could save “half an hour each way” on their commutes if they used the subway.
That grossly overstates the travel time benefit cited by city staff studying the transit options.
An initial business case reported in June estimated commuters could save “up to 5 minutes” on the one-stop subway extension compared to the current Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT). That number does not appear to take into account the extra time a resident in Shan’s and other wards might spend on the bus to get to Scarborough Town Centre instead of the current McCowan SRT stop further east.
At city hall and in Scarborough, Oxford Properties Group, which owns and operates the Town Centre, has been actively lobbying councillors on the subway in recent months, mostly through a newly formed group called ConnectScarborough.
Lobbyist Ryan Singh said the initiative was his idea in conjunction with the mall’s management, but acknowledged he represents Oxford Properties as part of his work at Temple Scott Associates and that Oxford is funding the group and paying him to lobby councillors.
“They’re extremely supportive of our campaign,” said Singh, whose group has set up a booth at the mall to speak to residents and launched an online petition that currently has 100 supporters.
“We felt there was no positive voice for people who do support the subway,” Singh told the Star.
The ConnectScarborough group has recently joined forces with Renew Scarborough, which is claiming to be a grassroots community organization. That group is run by former councillor candidate Jennifer McKelvie.
As costs have continued to rise, critics in the community, city-building advocates and councillors have called for a return to a plan for the province to fully fund a seven-stop LRT in the SRT corridor — that connects the Scarborough Town Centre before continuing east and then north to Sheppard Ave.
There is currently $3.56 billion in funding for Scarborough transit from three levels of government. By reverting to the LRT plan cancelled under former mayor Rob Ford, the city would be left with $910 million of their own contribution and $660 million expected in federal funding, enough to substantially fund the $1.6 billion LRT line along Eglinton Ave.
Scarborough Transit Action, affiliated with the TTCriders advocacy group, have lobbied for that LRT plan, with their own petition containing 250 signatures as of Tuesday.
“It’s time for our politicians to understand that we do not just want one stop on the subway; we want transit that takes us to work, school and all the opportunities this city has to offer,” the petition reads.
The competing advocacy group has filed a complaint with the city’s auditor general over concerns about improper lobbying by ConnectScarborough, saying the group should be “more up front about its intentions.”
Councillor Josh Matlow, who has led the call for that LRT network plan, said it would create more walkable stations and cut residents’ time spent on the bus for less money.
“The facts simply don’t justify replacing a seven-stop LRT plan that would connect more neighbourhoods, and serve so many more people, in Scarborough,” Matlow wrote to the Star. “It would also leave funds available to expand rapid transit in Scarborough even further. Considering the options, if a multi-billion dollar subway station actually made any sense, they wouldn’t have to sell it as hard.”