Public transit will be front and centre when voters in Scarborough head to the ballot box, but the debate still rages between a $3 billion subway and the cancelled LRT.

Lower property taxes, road repairs and reducing traffic were also popular answers when the Star asked residents of Ward 35 (Scarborough Southwest) and Ward 38 (Scarborough Centre) for their “number one issue” in the upcoming municipal election.

Every week until election day, the Star is asking voters in neighbourhoods around Toronto to tell us what they hope for, want and need for the city. Results will be mapped and compiled in the Star and on thestar.com.

Inside a bustling Tim Hortons in southwest Scarborough, Keith Halman said the answer is obvious: public transportation.

“The LRT is useless,” he said. “We need a subway service in Scarborough. Get it started. Enough of the bickering.”

Halman said he was worried city council was stalling on building the subway, and that public transit wasn’t keeping up with Toronto’s massive population growth.

“If you want to be fiscally responsible, dig the tunnels and start the work. We’ll figure out the rest as we go along, but the longer they wait, the more money it’s going to cost.”

Still others said the fully-funded seven-stop LRT was a more responsible choice than spending the next 30 years paying for a three-stop subway.

“It doesn’t make sense. You’re going to spend almost $3 billion and it’s only going to have three stops. With the LRT, you’re going to have seven, so you’re going to have more people using it,” said Mike McGrath.

Ward 35 is bounded by Victoria Park Ave. on the west, Eglinton Ave. E. in the north, and the CNR tracks along the southeast. Ward 38 is home to Scarborough Town Centre and the Scarborough Civic Centre.

For voters in both wards, road repairs were a major concern. John Ursal, a tractor trailer driver, said he was sick of driving over potholes on every other street.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “I’m on the road, obviously, so most of the time I was driving from here to the States. The potholes are really bad.”

Finding a solution to the city-wide traffic jam was another top issue. Robert McNamara said he was worried by recent discussions at city hall about tearing down the Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis St.

“I can’t believe they could tear that down. I don’t know what they would do with the traffic. I think they almost have to make it bigger to get the traffic through the city,” he said.

Gridlock at city hall was also a top priority for two voters, with both complaining that councillors need to stop squabbling and get to work.

“We’ve got the most screwed up city council in the world. They can’t get along, they can’t get anything done,” said Felix Gianfrancisco.

“If they just got along and got stuff done that needed to be done, as opposed to in-fighting all the time or following their personal agendas, that would be nice.”

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Ward 35 and 38 Voters’ Number One Issues

Public transit 8

Lower property taxes 4

Road repairs 3

Traffic/congestion 3

City councillors’ behaviour 2

Mayor Ford’s behaviour 1

Accessibility for people with disabilities 1

Housing the homeless 1

Other city repairs (streetlights) 1

Better services for newcomers 1

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