In an ideal world, transit decisions would be made something like this: professional planners and transit experts would carefully study a city’s needs, including ridership trends and development growth.

They would then apply their knowledge to craft a solution that delivers the most efficient service to the largest number of riders, complete with realistic construction timetables and cost estimates.

The role of politicians would be to support that research and generate the funding needed to ultimately build public transit that’s truly in the public interest.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it’s done in Toronto. Not even close.

Here, politicians relying on minimal information declare what’s to be built, often in a crass effort to garner votes, and city staff scramble to do their bidding. The colossal waste embodied in the one-stop Scarborough subway extension, reaffirmed by a hefty council majority this week, is just the latest example.

A classic of its kind is Mayor John Tory’s much-vaunted SmartTrack “surface subway” plan. It wasn’t developed by the Toronto Transit Commission, or by Metrolinx, the agency ostensibly in charge of planning and co-ordinating transit and transportation throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

It was a product of Tory’s election team, promising voters “transit relief” by adding 53 kilometres of rail line and 22 stations across Toronto — all in just seven years and at no cost to local ratepayers. Exposed to harsh reality, that vision has been shrinking since election day.

The mayor says it’s unfair to expect him to deliver everything he promised. He’s doing his best, and something much like SmartTrack will eventually be built.

He’s right that SmartTrack — for good or ill — is now firmly on the city’s transit agenda. Tory’s election prospects depend on it. Indeed, he has declared himself “happy to run for re-election on that.” As for the experts? Pity the poor transit planner who would dare subvert SmartTrack.

To no one’s surprise, city council backed Tory’s plan by voting on Wednesday to launch environmental assessments for several proposed SmartTrack stations. This was part of a comprehensive transit package that also included the first phase of a downtown subway relief line (which Toronto truly needs), the subway stop in Scarborough, and expansion of the Eglinton Crosstown light-rail line.

Unfortunately, the only project that’s fully funded is the one least needed by this city — a one-stop extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway, pushing it to the Scarborough Town Centre for a staggering $3 billion (it will almost certainly end up costing even more). That’s a huge investment for a project entirely political in origin.

This section of Scarborough was originally to be served by a seven-stop light-rail line built at provincial expense. That was killed by former mayor Rob Ford in keeping with his election promise to build subways. His primary rationale was simply that “people want subways.” It fell to city staff to justify that vision and they dutifully did so, in various reports, citing assorted statistics.

Following in Ford’s footsteps, Tory, too, promised to build the Scarborough subway and he has secured a strong vote of support from city council. This is unfortunate on two grounds: Scarborough commuters would be far better served by a light-rail system, and sinking $3 billion into a single subway stop limits money available for transit the city really needs.

There is a better way, and it’s evident in Vancouver’s TransLink regional transportation authority. Either directly, or through its subsidiary companies and contractors, this powerful agency handles the planning, construction, funding and operation of major bridges, roads, the monorail-style SkyTrain network, bus routes, a commuter rail line and ferry services.

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While political interference can never be completely eliminated, it’s kept to a minimum because TransLink has its own revenue streams. The agency sets fares and tolls and is funded through a fuel tax, parking tax and an automatic share of property tax. As a result, sound transit planning comes first — not political pandering.

There’s nothing similar here. Metrolinx resembles a pale, powerless shadow compared to the clout wielded by TransLink. Until the Greater Toronto Area has a transportation authority with this kind autonomy, political meddling will continue to taint a process that’s best left to transit professionals.

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