Autumn is in the air. And so are the major mayoral candidates’ transit plans. Rob Ford is once again promising wholesale subway construction. Olivia Chow is offering the old NDP formula of surface transit in the near term, and no new rapid transit for a long time to come. I am offering a comprehensive program built around SmartTrack: my bold plan to build 53 km of rapid transit and 22 new stations right across the city in just seven years, not 17.

SmartTrack is smart. It provides significant relief for the Yonge St. subway line and the entire system with a fast express service from where people live to where they work and learn.

It is cost-effective: much less expensive than subways because SmartTrack is built on existing rail lines now owned by the provincial GO network. And because SmartTrack runs along existing tracks, it won’t clog our already-congested roads. It’s a solution that just makes a lot of sense, which is why Torontonians all over the city are getting excited about it.

The SmartTrack concept has been developed over the last decade by experts and engineers in think-tanks and in the private sector. Like any bold new idea, it’s attracting discussion. That’s healthy in an election. So let me answer some of those questions.

The project schedule is realistic. Big underground rail projects are taking 10-12 years to do in Canada, and new-build surface LRTs are taking about eight years. So it makes sense that we can do SmartTrack along existing tracks in seven.

The partnerships are viable. SmartTrack fits in with the Wynne government’s regional express rail plans, and I can get the federal support we will need in Ottawa.

The financial plan is solid. I’ve called for the province to pay for one-third and the federal government another third of the cost. For the city’s one-third, I’ve called on Toronto and the regional municipalities where SmartTrack runs to share the load fairly. The cities can finance their payment through tax increment financing. This is a funding tool in widespread use in 47 of 50 U.S. states, and which has been legislated in Ontario for projects just like SmartTrack.

The project itself is sound. There is ample room in the cost and schedule to resolve specific technical issues, including: double-tracking along the Stouffville line (yes); engineering along the developed parts of the western spur (engineers thought about that); and electrification of Union Station (Metrolinx is working on it).

It’s easy to get into the weeds on all of this and forget about the SmartTrack’s basic good sense. After all, when you are planning to drive the family to Niagara Falls for the day, you do not need to present a map with each gas station, bathroom break and the menu at the diner in order to get out the door. What you need is a decent car, a good map and above all a safe, responsible driver. And then you get going. I think most people in Toronto are looking at the driver right now. The campaign debate is centring on transit-plan specifics, but the real focus of this election is on who can lead us where we want to go.

And the quality of leadership we’re seeing from my opponents when it comes to transit isn’t inspiring a lot of confidence. Rob Ford is no one’s idea of a safe pair of hands on the wheel. His transit plan is unfunded, undercosted and pretty close to fiction. It reminds us of everything that has gone wrong with Ford’s mayoralty.

The NDP candidate, Olivia Chow, has a plan that is also badly flawed. Her proposed bus network isn’t paid for and there’s no supply of buses for her to buy. The garage for the buses hasn’t been funded yet. And as for subway relief, she said it isn’t a priority and her proposed downtown relief subway line won’t get done until 2031. And she’ll hike property taxes to do it.

The NDP proposal is the same as it’s always been: surface network plans and not much else. That’s not good leadership. And Ford’s proposal is equally unbalanced: all subways and no surface improvements. This is leadership that has failed. My plan is sound and balanced. I have called for new express buses and congestion-reducing road measures. I support the Finch and Sheppard LRTs proceeding as planned. I will get on with the Scarborough subway extension, which all three levels of government support. I will keep us moving toward the goal of a downtown relief subway line. And I will build SmartTrack in seven years, not 17.

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For years, we’ve been locked in the same old debates: surface vs. subway; downtown vs. suburbs; mayor vs. council; city vs. province. We need a sound, balanced plan and a sensible, moderate mayor who can make it actually happen.

John Tory is a mayoral candidate in Toronto.

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