They yelled. They filibustered. They circulated gruesome photos of light rail crashes. They proposed taking $100 million a year from local businesses to fund subways and then backed away from that tax hike. Finally, proponents of Sheppard subway expansion attempted on Thursday to delay making any decision at all. That would have further postponed a caustic transit debate that has already lasted months too long.

Fortunately, their efforts were all for naught. Reason prevailed as city council put sound transit policy ahead of emotional “people want subways” appeals and voted 24-19 for a light rail line on Sheppard. It was the only responsible way to go.

The next step is up to Queen’s Park. Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government can no longer say city council hasn’t made its intentions clear, or that Toronto lacks “a complete plan.” There’s no more excuse to substantially delay provincial approval of the municipality’s light rail vision. Transport Minister Bob Chiarelli has, in the past, indicated that once Toronto brings forth a definitive plan it will go to provincial cabinet for “rigorous assessment.”

Fair enough. But that analysis shouldn’t take very long, or raise much concern, since the city’s current light-rail plan mirrors what the province had already studied at length, approved, and was funding, well over a year ago.

Study after study has shown that light rail provides the fastest transit, for the most people, for the best price — especially in suburban areas like those along Sheppard. There simply aren’t enough people here now, or in the foreseeable future, to justify the immense cost of a subway.

“The Sheppard line simply doesn’t work,” said Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker.

Expanding it further underground, to Scarborough Town Centre, would cost up to $1.7 billion that the city doesn’t have. And Mayor Rob Ford — for all his enthusiasm for such a subway — has never produced a meaningful plan to pay for it.

In an attempt to close that funding gap a group of conservative city councillors, led by Councillor Mike Del Grande, proposed raising $100 million a year through a new levy. It would take the form of a tax on non-residential parking spaces and cost about $100 per space annually. The money would be used on a pay-as-you-go basis to fund incremental subway construction into the foreseeable future. But this would be an achingly slow way to proceed given that it costs about $300 million to build a single kilometre of subway. Del Grande’s motion was eventually dropped.

In Ford’s closing speech, before Sheppard subway expansion was crushed, the mayor warned the fight wasn’t over. “This will be back here again,” he said. “This will be here year, after year, after year. This will be a big election issue.”

But that’s precisely the wrong attitude to take in response to city council’s democratic decision to proceed with light rail. Barely more than a year into his mandate, Ford seems more intent on campaigning than governing. Indeed, his intransigence is remarkable. The mayor has publicly said he’d rather have no above-ground light rail transit — none — if he couldn’t have subways. That borders on childish.

Ford even urged McGuinty to withhold provincial funding from light rail, despite city council’s decision. It would be folly for the premier to do so. He’s being asked to climb aboard Ford’s subway bandwagon now that it has utterly broken down. McGuinty has repeatedly pledged to provide $8.4 billion to expand Toronto transit and he can’t, in good conscience, back out now. Few councillors, even in Scarborough, are likely to follow Ford in urging that this city be denied promised funding for the sake of a broken subway dream.

Ford is under some illusion that mindless obstruction and years of stalled transit represent a winning election strategy. Most of Toronto’s beleaguered commuters, even dedicated subway enthusiasts, would disagree. Light rail can move hundreds of thousands of riders faster than they’re travelling now. That’s surely better than nothing.

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