Karen Stintz is shown at Toronto city hall on Oct. 16 2007.Arantxa Cedillo / Veras/The Globe and Mail
Toronto Transit Commission chair Karen Stintz said Thursday that she welcomed comments made by senior Metrolinx officials who hinted that the development of the oft-discussed "Downtown Relief Line" might be accelerated as the regional transportation agency prepares to update its long-term plan.
"It was always in the 25-year plan," said Ms. Stintz. "It's good to see that it's still being considered."
But she questioned the timing of the move, given that Metrolinx has its hands full with more immediate problems, such as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and the continuing roll-out of the Presto fare-card program. "I'm not sure why this is coming up at this time."
Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig told reporters Wednesday that the DRL, a subway that would run from the Bloor-Danforth line to Union Station and on to the Exhibition, might be given a higher priority when the agency releases a revamped version of its Big Move strategy next year. The line, which has appeared on transit planning documents going back to the 1980s, is meant to take pressure off the Yonge-University Spadina line, which has been increasingly crowded in recent years.
Mr. McCuaig's statement comes just weeks before the highly anticipated release of a city report on the viability of a privately financed Sheppard subway line, promised by Mayor Rob Ford during last year's election campaign.
That study is being completed by Gordon Chong, a member of Mr. Ford's transition team and the head of Toronto Transit Infrastructure Ltd., a subsidiary of the TTC. In recent weeks, he's hinted that the Sheppard line might be developed in several stages, with the first extending under Highway 404 to a stop at Victoria Park Avenue and serving the offices in the Consumers Road area.
Special to the Globe and Mail