They came to check out the city’s plans for its biggest-ever construction project — the building of rapid transit in London.

“This is the most important engineering job we will ever do,” Edward Soldo, director of roads and transportation, said of the overhaul of London’s transit system that could take until 2025 to finish.

The public meeting Thursday afternoon took the form of a drop-in session in the foyer of Western Fair District’s Agriplex.

The space was lined with 18 poster boards of information and a video screen. There was much evidence of the plan’s branding, with young attendants in black T-shirts sporting the Shift logo, the name given by Mayor Matt Brown to the ambitious transit strategy.

The curious stood in small groups, chatting and perusing the printed information. One board touted the consultation process itself, boasting that 35 events have already been held, 6,100 people consulted, and more than 890 Twitter followers signed up.

However, all of those statistics didn’t impress retired Londoner Tony Zylstra, who boasts that he knows the city’s bus routes better than the drivers themselves. “This is a pony show,” he said.

Based on the transit commission’s track record, Zylstra said he doesn’t have faith that city planners are putting enough forethought into the project.

“I’m not getting the sense that their work’s being done on this thing,” he said. “I’m really nervous. This is going to take a huge amount of co-operation.”

One of Brown’s allies on council, Ward 4 Coun. Jesse Helmer, noted the meeting was just one part of the first phase of the entire process.

“We still have to discuss what kind of technology we’re going to use,” he said, a decision that will take place as part of the second phase, beginning later this year.

Helmer said most of the questions he gets from constituents are about how much rapid transit is going to cost, where the routes will run, and how soon the system can be put into place. “I think most people feel like we should have had it a long time ago,” Helmer said.

Soldo says the scope of the plan goes beyond a mere public-works project and into the realm of city building.

“This is a legacy project, when you think about it,” he said.

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PUBLIC MEETING

City hall wants to hear from Londoners as its public consultation on a proposed rapid-transit system ramps up.

There’s another meeting Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Goodwill Centre, 255 Horton St. E.

Go to shiftlondon.ca for details

SATURDAY: A closer look at London’s ­ambitious plan

TWO CORRIDORS

City hall has recommended two L-shaped routes for its proposed rapid-transit system.