Talks concerning a controversial light rail transit (LRT) proposal for Brampton will continue this afternoon with councillors taking aim at alignments, ridership forecasts and maintenance costs.

Friday’s 2-5 p.m. workshop is the follow up to a meeting on Oct. 5 that focused mainly on background and allowed councillors to direct questions at Metrolinx, the provincial government transit arm that has committed $1.6 billion to connecting Mississauga’s lakefront to the downtown Brampton GO station by way of light rail.

The city has planned several facilitation meetings (at a minimum cost of $54,000) ahead of a crucial council vote on Oct. 27.

“I thought that our Oct. 5 LRT workshop was very helpful toward reaching a common understanding of the decision space and defining the options. The discussion was both wide-ranging and pointed,” stated Lee Parsons in an email to councillors ahead of Friday’s workshop meeting. “However, as all agreed, there is still work to be done on a number of key issues that we haven't yet addressed or haven't addressed in sufficient detail.”

But Friday’s meeting is expected to continue along the same path as previous discussions on the LRT plan.

Councillors disagree on the proposed route once it hits Steeles Avenue and continue to hammer staff on ridership numbers forecasted for the final stretch of line from the Gateway terminal at Shoppers World (Main and Steeles) to the Brampton GO station.

Metrolinx estimates the LRT will carry 34 million riders per year by 2031, but that figure accounts for the whole 23-kilometre stretch and some elected officials want more of a breakdown in order to judge whether the last kilometre of track would have enough riders to justify tearing up the historic Four Corners.

Some councillors, backed up by business leaders and area residents, prefer an alternate route that diverts away from the city centre and connects to Queen Street.

Councillors also want accurate figures on annual operation and maintenance costs and how the LRT “would function in the already congested downtown.”

“Metrolinx keep saying they are looking at the whole alignment and don't break it down — the more they defend not giving us the numbers, the more I believe they are critical in terms of us making a decision,” stated Regional Councillor Elaine Moore in an email. “They (ridership breakdown) may not be relevant to them — they are to me and others.”