Olivia Chow says Toronto has “LRT-phobia.”

Chow, whose mayoral campaign has been running a distant third in the polls, expressed her simmering frustration that the Ford mantra of “subways, subways, subways” has demonized light-rail transit, a key plank in her platform.

The political rhetoric of Mayor Rob Ford and Councillor Doug Ford, who is now running for mayor, over the past four years has wasted time, energy and money, she insisted during a Monday night debate at the University of Toronto.

“LRTs are world-class,” she said. “Yet somehow this city has this LRT-phobia. We do. So, we should not reward bad decisions by saying yes one more time to the Scarborough Subway.”

If elected mayor, Chow promised to cancel the Scarborough subway and revert back to an earlier plan to use light rail technology. She has pledged to use the cash saved to build a downtown relief subway line.

After the debate, Chow said the technology has been attacked by faulty “mythology” which hurt transit planning in Toronto.

“They are twisting the truth so much,” she said of the Fords.

Chow conceded that even in the early days of her campaign she wasn’t using the name “LRT”.

“I tried to say ‘above ground’ because I was trying to explain it, that it is different,” she said. “I was trying to say ‘It’s a train, guys.’ ... I was trying to break the mythology.”

During the event, Doug Ford continued his attack on rival John Tory’s SmartTrack plan and repeated his support for subways, deriding light rail.

“Folks, you can go two ways,” he said. “You can destroy this city with a plan that is nothing but fiction, nothing but fiction. Or you can come up with a plan that every other world class city has ... they’re building rapid, underground transit.”

Tory denied having “LRT-phobia.”

“I don’t have a phobia about any particular form of transportation,” he said. “I think we need to have a proper plan and most importantly get on with it.”

Tory said needs differ across the city. Toronto needs subways, streetcars, buses, LRTs and many other options, he said, even joking about using water taxis.

shawn.jeffords@sunmedia.ca