Voters in the northern suburbs bordering Steeles Ave. are concerned not just that Toronto doesn’t have enough public transit but that the TTC should do a better job of running the system we do have.

That was a key message that emerged from interviews with 25 voters Sunday in Ward 24, Willowdale and Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt.

Jeannie Kwong is fed up with subway delays on the current system due to mechanical difficulties such as signal trouble. The result is that neither transit nor the private car offer speedy trips.

“Do you want to be stuck on transit or stuck in traffic in your car?” Kwong said, on a cigarette break outside Bayview Village Shopping Centre. “I feel one is as bad as the other.”

Rodelia Arcega, 42, a recent arrival from the Philippines, said people may complain about traffic here but it’s mild compared to Manila. Still, he likes the idea of expanding the transit system.

“More public transit is always good. It would reduce the burden of too many private vehicles on the streets,” Arcega said, as his young daughter played with a ball at Rean Drive Park, in the Bayview-Sheppard area.

Bayview Village resident Lisette Bilodeau, supports expanding transit but said those who want to extend the Sheppard subway east of Don Mills Rd. have it wrong.

Instead, they should build transit from the Don Mills subway station south along Don Mills Rd. to Pape subway, Bilodeau said.

It needn’t be an expensive subway, she said. A light rail line along Don Mills might work.

The intersection of the two lines at Yonge-Sheppard makes for crowding on the platform that could be alleviated by a Don Mills line, she added.

“What they should do is Don Mills down to Bloor. Now it’s so jammed at Yonge and Sheppard, it’s ridiculous,” said Bilodeau, a 45-year resident of Toronto who uses a cane.

“In rush hour, I have tripped and fallen down the stairs. People push. I can’t blame them. It’s a nightmare.”

Jordan Zuker, 20, said he would like to see transit operated more reliably.

“There are issues with the trains stopping a lot,” Zuker said.

Zuker also said road construction needs to be speeded up to reduce traffic delays, possibly by scheduling more construction work for nights and weekends.

Bayview Village resident John Mitchell agreed with those who say the transit system should run better, but he also thinks there should be more of it.

“The TTC’s an embarrassment,” Mitchell said. “Somebody’s not doing their job.”

Mitchell said it’s worrisome that other major cities have much larger transit systems.

“We’re far behind. I don’t know if we’ll ever catch up.”

The key thing is to start, said one man outside Bridlewood Mall at Warden and Finch.

“Even if we built one kilometre a year, in 20 years we’d have 20 kilometres of subway,” said the man, who didn’t want to give his name.

Not everyone had a complaint. Graham Davies, a retired marketing professor who doesn’t drive, said he’s happy living in his condo on the south side of Sheppard across from the Bayview Village mall.

While transit and traffic dominated the thoughts of many voters, other concerns included lack of police presence in northern Scarborough and slow response to calls for police assistance there.

There was criticism of property taxes being too high and water rates rising too fast, at 9 per cent a year for the past several years.

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And there were calls for more affordable housing, a need for advocacy for tougher rent control and more jobs.

On traffic congestion, some of the mayoral candidates have pledged to introduce smart traffic signals that would help unsnarl intersections.

However, those who identified tie-ups as a major headache were skeptical that the technology would make much of a difference.

One answer to traffic mayhem may to slow down on development, said Wali Ghafori, 28, a cab driver who lives near Birchmount and Finch.

“They’re building a lot of condos,” said Ghafori, a native of Afghanistan who’s lived in Toronto for 17 years. “There’s so much happening. It would be nice if they were more spread out.”

Priorities of 25 people in Wards 24 and 39

Public transit: 7

Traffic: 5

Property taxes: 2

Overdevelopment: 2

Potholes: 2

Affordable housing: 2

Policing: 2

Rent control: 1

Jobs: 1

Water rates: 1