We all know that the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton are growing rapidly, but that our transportation network is limiting that growth. Many people use transit to access downtown Toronto and other employment areas; however, supply has not kept up with demand. In particular, the the Yonge branch of the TTC’s 1 Yonge - University - Spadina subway line, which serves both local and regional trips, is overcrowded today and, even with proposals to improve the line and its service, it’s still likely to be over-crowded in the future.

Metrolinx, the TTC, the City of Toronto and York Region are working together to address crowding on the line.

Metrolinx says that “Transit crowding along the Yonge corridor is a regional problem that needs a regional solution. It’s about new and integrated ways to improve people’s mobility not just new transit lines. This important work can’t be done in isolation. We believe we can get further, faster by working together — and that’s just what we’re doing.”

The Regional Relief Strategy builds on the work in The Big Move — the Metrolinx regional transportation plan — with a series of studies and ongoing work by Metrolinx and its partners.

They know that big decisions lie ahead for all four partners in the study, so they’re asking for your ideas and input. Since any solution will need stable, long-term support, they’re asking you to get involved and stay involved.

That’s why public and stakeholder consultation is integral to this process and will take place at key milestones throughout the study.

Meanwhile, the City and TTC are looking at a future rapid transit line to connect downtown Toronto to the 2 Bloor - Danforth subway line east of the Don River. They say the line, “will assist in relieving crowding on the Yonge Subway line and the Bloor-Yonge interchange station as well as provide riders with more travel options.”

Their Relief Line Study will assess station locations and route alignment for the new rapid transit line. That’s why they’re hosting to upcoming public meetings when you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the study and provide feedback.

At these meetings, the City and TTC are specifically looking for your comments and ideas on:

Potential station areas; and

Evaluation criteria, meaning what measures do they use to determine what’s the best route and what are the best sites for stations.

Meetings take place:

Since the two governments and two government agencies announced their plans to study various aspects of “regional relief” in March, the transit landscape has changed. The voters of Toronto voted for John Tory as mayor, in part because of his plan to develop the SmartTrack rapid transit line. (Since city council has approved studying the proposal in detail, the City also seems officially to be heading down those smart tracks “full-steam ahead”). Since SmartTrack may serve some of the same area as the possible relief line, the study needs to determine how much the two plans overlap and whether to still consider the relief line as a priority.

Second, the Government of Ontario, after many years of discussion, seems ready to pursue its plans to implement a regional express rail network, again using some of the same corridor that the relief line may require.

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