Today the TTC boasts four subway lines, 10 streetcar routes and nearly 200 bus routes, but there is a long list of Toronto transit projects that have been proposed, approved and even started, but never completed.

Here’s a look at some of the city’s many attempts at building transit.

The first subway lines

1910-1912

Plans for a subway system in Toronto started to catch wind in the early 1900s. The city hired New York-based consulting firm Jacobs & Davies, Inc. to put together a report for city council evaluating how feasible an underground rail network would be, with recommendations as to how to create one. The report proposed three lines, one each on Yonge, Bloor and Queen Sts.

What happened? The city found the plan too ambitious and only went ahead with one subway line. But in 1912, when the cost of constructing it was put to a vote, Torontonians axed the plan.

The Queen Line

1946

A referendum on the heels of World War II revitalized the dream of a subway line on Queen, to be constructed as the east-west complement to the north-south Yonge line once construction on the latter was completed. The subway was to be a combination of underground and open-cut lines and would run north of the existing Queen streetcar line.

What happened? By 1954, when the construction on the Yonge line up to Eglinton was complete and it came time to begin work on the Queen line, changes in development and population had made Bloor the busier street. The Queen line was forgotten again, in favour of the Bloor-Danforth line.

The Metropolitan Toronto Transportation Plan

1966-1972

Following the incorporation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1953 and a subsequent flurry of construction that produced the Lakeshore Expressway, Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, traffic planners put forward plans for five new expressways in Metro Toronto: the Spadina, the Crosstown, the Scarborough, the Hamilton and the Christie-Clinton.

What happened? Many of the proposed expressways faced criticism from city residents due to the potential impact of the construction. In 1971, a decision by the province effectively killed construction of the Spadina Expressway. By 1972, the provincial government called for an entirely new transit plan in an effort to reduce the use of cars, and most of the proposed highways were never completed.

The Intermediate Capacity Transit System Plan

1970s-1980s

After the demise of the Metro Toronto expressways, the provincial government devised “GO-Urban,” a plan for three advanced mass transit lines that would be run by the newly-formed GO Transit agency. The Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS) was designed to have a capacity halfway between subways and buses. It was to run east-west along Finch and Eglinton Aves. and form a wide U through downtown.

What happened? One small part of the plan, now known as the Scarborough RT, went ahead after the provincial government pressured the TTC into switching out its planned streetcar extension. Otherwise, the project was largely abandoned; “GO-Urban” was cancelled after running into technical problems and funding issues, and GO Transit eventually turned to conventional heavy rail systems.

The Network 2011 Plan

1985

Network 2011, aimed to play catch up after the ICTS fell short of its goals, planning to expand service with three subway lines to be finished by 2011. The Downtown Relief Line would run south from Donlands Station, past Union Station to the intersection of Front and Spadina. The Sheppard Line would run from Downsview Station along to the Scarborough Town Centre. Finally, the Eglinton West Line would run from Eglinton West Station to Renforth Dr., making connections with Pearson airport and a Mississauga busway.

What happened? The plan faced opposition from the beginning, and after the defeat of the Conservative provincial government by the Liberals in 1985 it was put under review and revised, adding an extension of the Spadina subway line to the mix. When the NDP came into power in 1990 the plan was revised and delayed yet again, and again after the Conservatives regained power in 1995. The Spadina extension to Downsview opened in 1996, and a truncated version of the Sheppard Line, which opened in 2002, is all that remains of the initial plan.

The Transit City plan

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2007

Transit City was proposed by former mayor David Miller. The plan included building seven light rail lines, including a transit corridor on Finch Ave. W. and lines along Don Mills Rd., Jane St. and Eglinton Ave. It would also extend the Scarborough RT by three stops, create rapid transit lines for buses, and improve the frequency and timing of 21 pre-existing bus routes.

What happened? The plan was on track to receive funding from the provincial and city governments, but the project was delayed when the provincial government postponed its funding. When then-mayor Rob Ford took office in 2010 he declared plans to cancel the project, calling for a new plan with only underground lines. However, city council eventually approved some key components of Transit City, including the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and the conversion of the Scarborough RT to light rail transit.

The OneCity plan

2012

The proposal, brought forward by then-TTC chair Karen Stintz and vice-chair and Glenn De Baeremaeker, both councillors, included a 175-kilometre, citywide transit expansion featuring six subway lines, 10 LRTs and five bus and streetcar routes. The plan, billed at $30 billion, would rely on funding from increased municipal property taxes and the provincial and federal governments.

What happened? The plan, which was heavily opposed by then-mayor Rob Ford, ultimately failed to gain support at city hall or from the provincial government and could not move forward.

SmartTrack

2014-mid 2020s

First proposed during John Tory’s 2014 mayoral campaign, this commuter heavy rail line was initially planned to run along Eglinton Ave. from the Airport Corporate Centre in Mississauga to Mount Dennis, then down to Union Station, then northeast through Scarborough to Unionville in Markham, for a total of 22 stations and 53 kilometres. Tory initially estimated the line could be completed within seven years, although a 2016 report from the city suggests completion in 2024-2026.

What happened? Debates about whether LRT would be more feasible than heavy rail for certain stretches of the line’s proposed route, concerns that the eastern section of the line would run too close to the proposed Scarborough extension of the Bloor-Danforth line, issues with funding, and revisions to the proposed number and location of stops have plagued the project since its conception. The most recent integration of the plan proposes 14 stations, with terminal stations at Mount Dennis in the west and Milliken GO Station in the east.

The Downtown Relief Line

1910-present

The idea of the Downtown Relief Line was proposed decades ago to relieve some of the pressure on Line 1, which sees some of the worst congestion. Different versions of the line have been suggested over the years, but they all mostly start at Pape and form some U-shape through downtown, similar to Line 1. The DRL had always been identified as a need for the future, when transit congestion would get worse with a growing population, but is seemingly always put on the back burner.

What happened? In January 2019, Mayor John Tory said the city and TTC could speed up construction of the line by two years, which means the line could open by 2029. Tory said the plan requires the city to accelerate $325 million in spending on early work. However, the provincial government’s recently announced changes to Toronto transit, which include a proposal to build the relief line with an unspecified “alternate technology,” have thrown this long-awaited updated into question yet again.

Rhianna Jackson-Kelso is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @RhiannaJK

Premila D’Sa is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @premila_dsa

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