“Burnhamthorpe Road has the density and makeup for BRT. A BRT line on the 403 makes no sense,” said Penalosa suggesting Mississauga bowed to pressure. “Mayor (Hazel) McCallion and Mississauga council didn’t have the guts to do it (BRT) right.”

Considered one of the most progressive urbanists in the world, Penalosa has delivered numerous speeches about sustainability and how transit plays a major part in creating complete communities

Penalosa made such a presentation at the Rose Theatre in Brampton last year on urban renewal.

He said too often, long-term vision is compromised for short-term political gain. He hopes Brampton won’t lose out on such an important initiative.

“If families can downsize to one car it would be like they won the lottery. But the only way to downsize is if you have a good transportation system.”

For Penalosa, that system sees Brampton connect to a larger regional transit network via LRT and GO Train lines.

But opponents to the current plan argue that transit riders in the city need a “Made in Brampton” plan that serves the entire city.

They want council to consider one of the various alternatives being proposed–including connecting east to the Bramalea GO Station via Steeles Avenue – that would swing the LRT away from the heritage district. They would even settle for routing the LRT underground in one section near Nanwood Drive – at an added cost of $300 to $500 million.

Penalosa said the biggest selling point of the LRT plan is the $1.6 billion funding commitment from the province. He said that amount of money frees Brampton up to do other important initiatives.

But some of the sharpest critics on council say they’ve learned their lesson following the city’s handling of the controversial city hall expansion deal. Councillors Grant Gibson and Elaine Moore said they refuse to make a decision on such a huge investment without understanding the entire scope of the project first.

“This is a major decision for this city and a significant investment and we need to make sure we have all of the data on this,” said Moore. “I was part of a council that was denied information.”

Moore also read off a laundry list of questions she wants answered before the July 8 vote, like whether or not the province will refuse to fund the project if the proposal is denied.