Toronto has a priorities problem.

When large infrastructure projects are chosen that benefit relatively few people, such as the underused Sheppard subway line, poorly planned Union-Pearson Express (UPX) and unnecessary Gardiner East rebuild, there is less funding available to serve your real needs.

City Hall is on the brink of seeing history repeat itself by making yet another short-sighted decision. It might actually choose to build a single subway stop rather than a 24-station LRT network for Scarborough.

We all agree that the one-stop option would provide fast service from Scarborough Town Centre (STC) to Kennedy Station; so would the LRT, which would run through its own traffic-separated corridor. However, with a one-stop subway, the residents in the rest of Scarborough (comprising 35 per cent of Toronto’s land area) would be left on a bus.

For approximately the same city funding, we can choose instead to build two LRT lines. One would have seven stops using the existing RT corridor to link the Scarborough Town Centre and Centennial College to Kennedy Station on trains with the same top speed as a subway (80 km/h). This project is part of the signed Metrolinx Master Agreement, and would be mostly funded by the provincial government. Then, with money saved by moving forward now with the approved LRT, council could fund a new 17-stop extension of the Eglinton Crosstown through Kennedy, serving Kingston Rd, U of T Scarborough and several neighbourhoods in between.

Combined, the LRT lines would provide rapid transit to the 96,200 existing residents and employees who are within walking distance of a station. That’s six times more than a one-stop subway. The 24 LRT stations’ geographic coverage better matches the needs of residents who want more than just to leave Scarborough.

In fact, recent data shows that 48 per cent of trips are local compared to just 23 per cent ending downtown. Ridership projections for a one-stop subway predict almost 8,000 fewer daily users in 2031 than the current five-stop SRT has now. This suggests people want transit to get them to work or school in the morning, while also making it more convenient to go shopping, see a movie or visit with friends and family.

The LRT network also does a better job of delivering transit access to marginalized communities by serving 25,900 people living in five Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) and three former Priority Neighbourhoods. The one-stop subway would only serve 1,700 NIA residents.

Perhaps the most puzzling argument put forward in this debate is that only a one-stop subway is capable of unlocking the Scarborough Town Centre’s development potential. Tasked with providing a planning rationale for a subway stop, the city’s planning staff have developed a remarkable proposal for the area that would transform parking lots and ring roads into a more urban, pedestrian-friendly street grid.

It is unfortunate some have falsely created an exclusive causal relationship between this visionary plan and the one-stop subway. That’s simply misleading. The LRT would have more than double the capacity to serve projected ridership and its east-west alignment would better facilitate expansion of the Scarborough Town Centre area with an additional stop at McCowan — a flaw in the subway plan that city planning already identifies in its report. That’s why our chief planner previously stated that an LRT to Scarborough Town Centre, and stops beyond, would better serve “city building” goals than could a subway.

Poor choices can have long-lasting consequences. It was recently reported that Queen’s Park is paying more than $50 per ride to subsidize the Union-Pearson Express, while the TTC is still paying more than $10 for every trip on the Sheppard subway line. Already, we know a one-stop subway in Scarborough would require at least $2 billion in maintenance costs over the next 60 years — costs the city wouldn’t be responsible for with the provincially funded LRT.

A 24-station LRT network would not only provide more transit for Scarborough residents but would also leave more funding available for daycare spaces, youth recreation programs, parks, libraries and affordable housing.

Without a strong rationale to support their cause, one-stop proponents have resorted to populist rhetoric for a project that isn’t even that popular. Poll after poll shows Scarborough residents see through pandering statements; caring more about whether new rapid transit will take them where they need to go rather than the type of vehicle they ride.

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Council will meet on July 12 with an opportunity to put people before politics, and finally move forward with evidence-based plans that serve more residents for fewer dollars. Please tell the mayor and your local councillor that you choose 24 stops for Scarborough.

Josh Matlow is councillor for Ward 22-St. Paul’s and Paul Ainslie is councillor for Ward 43-Scarborough East.

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