Congestion does not stop north of Steeles Avenue. Transit planning should not stop south of it. It is time to stop talking. It is time to start building. It is time to put money where the priority is.

We have to set aside any political boundaries and work together using evidence-based planning. As the mayor of Markham and Chair of the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, I believe the Yonge Subway Extension is a top transit priority and the most justified rapid transit investment in recent history.

Some argue the extension would increase crowding along the busy Yonge Subway Line (Line 1), but we cannot look at things in isolation and ignore how transit is evolving.

Read: The politicians who want to extend the Yonge subway should try riding it during rush hour

New transit improvements such as Automatic Train Control, increased train service, improved and frequent GO train service, SmartTrack, Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, Eglinton Crosstown, among other local transit improvements will all create additional capacity and reduce overcrowding until 2031.

I continue to support other transit investments in the region, including the Downtown Relief Line, which along with the Yonge Subway Extension, have been identified by Metrolinx as priority projects. It should be full steam ahead for both projects, but should issues arise with either one, it should not slow down the progress and completion of the other.

The residents of Toronto do not solely pay for Toronto’s transit infrastructure. The TTC’s operations are funded primarily through the fare box; the fare box does not discriminate based on where people live. The Ontario taxpayer has subsidized the TTC’s operating costs as well. The City of Toronto recently secured $9 billion in federal and provincial funding for priority transit projects, paid for by taxpayers from across the province and country. Funding for the Yonge Subway Extension will involve three levels of government.

York Region is home to 1.2 million people, which is expected to reach 1.8 million by 2041. It has the second largest employment zone in Ontario and more than 150,000 people commute to work in York Region every day.

Markham is home to the largest per capita concentration of companies involved in information and communication technologies. Ontario’s real innovation corridor runs along the DVP/404 from Toronto to Markham. The tech sector is growing faster than the rest of the Canadian economy and higher-order transit must be in place to connect people to the jobs of the future.

Transit planning should involve vision. The GTA’s population is growing by 100,000 people each year. We need transit investment that deals with the demands of today while meeting future growth and the only way to do so is to put an end to never-ending jurisdictional debate.

Premier Doug Ford understands we must take a regional approach to transit building and has committed to begin construction in the current term of government.

The previous proposal to build high-speed rail along the Toronto-Windsor corridor should not compete with money needed to build essential transit in our region.

I invite anyone to ride one of the over-crowded buses along the Yonge Street corridor and argue otherwise. Commuters are not going away and the numbers will continue to increase over time.

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Frank Scarpitti is mayor of the City of Markham.

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