Toronto’s transit plans are in tatters after the mayor’s allies on the TTC board moved to seize control of the transit agenda and block an attempt to halt Mayor Rob Ford’s demands that all Toronto transit be built underground.

The move, which blindsided TTC chair Karen Stintz, handcuffs transit staff who had been planning to publicly release a report next month showing the pros and cons of burying the entire Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT.

The transit commission vote came within an hour of the release of a strongly worded letter from Metrolinx chair Robert Prichard pleading with the city to get its act together on the transit file.

But a visibly shaken Stintz suggested the vote passed by Ford loyalists Denzil Minnan-Wong, TTC vice-chair Peter Milczyn, Frank DiGiorgio, Vincent Crisanti and Norm Kelly has actually cast more confusion on the city’s plans.

Metrolinx will soon have to choose between Ford’s transit vision, contained in a memorandum of understanding between the city and province, and a compromise being suggested by Stintz.

Ford wants Eglinton to run underground all the way from Black Creek Dr. to Kennedy Station. Stintz has been rallying support to return to the old Transit City plan, tunneling only as far as Laird Dr. in the east and then running the LRT on the surface to Kennedy. That would save up to about $2 billion money that could go to other transit developments.

“Absent council’s endorsement of the MOU, the city is not bound by the plan and it is increasingly difficult to implement it. We believe both you and council must soon confirm the direction the city wishes to take,” wrote Prichard.

“The purpose of the letter is to provide clarity on the need to have direction from council, the mayor and the TTC,” explained Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig.

But Tuesday’s vote signals to the province “That we’re not interested in getting our act together,” said an angry Stintz, who walked away from reporters to compose herself.

“There are so many fundamental issues that need to be addressed not just for this commission but for the next 50 years of the city,” she said. The commissioners, she said, are shutting the door to a full airing of those issues.

Stintz, who was picked by Ford to head the TTC, acknowledged that she can be removed with notice by the commission. However, she said, “I don’t see any reason why I would quit.”

The vote prompted some city councillors to suggest it’s more important than ever to put the mayor’s transit plans before city council even if it means calling a special council meeting.

“It’s clear that a majority of council doesn’t think this administration and its few allies on council any longer represent the interests of Torontonians,” said Councillor Gord Perks.

“My understanding was the mayor was going to bring the MOU and Gordon Chong’s report (on financing the Sheppard subway extension) to executive committee. If that happens, it will end up on the floor of council. It’s not clear we need a special meeting,” said Stintz.

But Milczyn said commissioners who voted against allowing the TTC to continue discussing issues on Eglinton with the province are simply taking charge of the discussions themselves.

“We’re not preprepared to give staff a blank cheque to take their positions to Metrolinx,” he said.

TTC staff have expressed concerns about operating Eglinton if its design is administered entirely by Infrastructure Ontario, although Stintz confirmed Tuesday that the TTC would be running the LRT. There’s also disagreement about the appropriate vehicles and tunnel length for the project.

Milczyn said he received no direction from the mayor on how to vote. But Eglinton is a provincial project, he said, and it’s up to Metrolinx to decide how to build it.

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“Starting to have a whole debate about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, … that’s the perfect way to slow down the process,” he said.

TTC chief general manager Gary Webster admitted he was confused and would be seeking clarification on the commission’s directive. Staff were told to report back on the design, construction and operation of Eglinton, and in a seemingly contradictory directive, told they are not to report on the tunneling route or the vehicles.

At Queen’s Park earlier Tuesday, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak backed Ford over council and darkly suggested the Liberals may be meddling in municipal politics.

“Mayor Ford campaigned on a very clear position to end the waste at city hall and to put an end to Transit City and move to subways instead,” said Hudak.

“Premier McGuinty then agreed to that plan. That’s the path we’re on today,” he said.

“I certainly hope there’s no mischief here at Queen’s Park trying to take us down a different course,” he said. “That kind of chaos is not helpful to address gridlock problems here in the city of Toronto or in the GTA.”

TTC CUTS REGULAR BUSES IN FAVOUR OF WHEEL-TRANS

TTC riders on a 35 routes will see their off-peak service cut Feb. 12 after city councillors on the TTC board voted on Tuesday to allocate $5 million to maintain Wheel-Trans service for dialysis patients rather than restore off-peak buses.

The $5 million was allocated by city council when it approved this year’s Toronto operating budget.

Councillor Karen Stintz, who chairs the TTC board, disagreed with that decision to take $15 million from Toronto’s $154 million surplus and apply it to programs and services in the 2012 budget, including transit.

She believes the money should have gone toward paying for the city’s new streetcars. Stintz also said she didn’t want to restore the off-peak buses only to take them away again next year because the funding wasn’t sustainable.

The funding gives the TTC a year to negotiate a solution with the province to pay for dialysis Wheel Trans users.

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