With an expert panel strongly urging city council to vote Wednesday to build surface light rail — not a subway — on Sheppard Ave., Mayor Rob Ford has opened the door to a referendum on the question.

Shortly after the report was released Friday morning, Ford repeated his dismissal of the council-established panel as “biased” and said he won’t raise any taxes to expand Toronto’s rapid transit.

“Let’s build one or two (subway) stops now,” with federal and provincial cash currently pledged for Sheppard transit, Ford told reporters, adding he would only consider a new tax if it was approved in a referendum.

“If people want to vote to have a new tax for subways, I listen to the residents. I listen to the taxpayers,” Ford said. “They don’t want that ... I could be wrong, I don’t think I am.”

The panel used nine criteria, including ridership, network connectivity, and cost-effectiveness and sustainability, to rate three options: LRT from Don Mills to Morningside; subway from Don Mills to Scarborough Town Centre; and subway to Victoria Park with an LRT extension to Morningside.

Panellists gave the LRT line a score of 87.3 points out of 100, compared to 59.5 for the subway/LRT hybrid and 59.3 for a full subway line.

Panel member Eric Miller, director of the U of T’s Cities Centre, told reporters: “There was a very strong consensus with one strong dissenting opinion,” from Gordon Chong, Ford’s point man on subway financing.

Miller said the panel took “a systematic look at options,” that was not biased left or right, pro-subway or pro-LRT.

In the report, city finance staff say a subway could be financed through 30-year borrowing with dedicated annual property tax hikes of between .6 per cent and .9 per cent over seven years. The city’s long-term debt would climb by between $1.6 billion and $2.5 billion.

But Miller said the analysis shows an LRT provides “more bang for the buck.”

“Even if we can raise the money, is (subway) an effective solution?” he said. “Even if you can buy the Lamborghini, is that a good decision for your transportation needs?”

Chong, who authored an interim report arguing subways can be financed through private investment as well as special development charges and potentially revenue tools including toll roads, said he hopes council will defer a decision for six to 12 months while all options are explored.

“Why not go down the path of looking for private sector funding?” he said.

When asked if Ford is being stubborn, for ruling out new taxes to pay for transit when Chong says they have to be considered, he said: “I would say that the mayor has a stubborn side to him. I think both sides on this debate have let it get out of hand ...”

The expert panel compared three transit options for Sheppard Ave.:

• LRT from Don Mills to Morningside on a centre right-of-way that would not reduce traffic lanes; 13 kilometres; 25 stations; $1 billion

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• Subway from Don Mills to Scarborough Town Centre; 8 kilometres; 7 stations; $2.7 billion to $3.7 billion.