The people of Scarborough told Rob Ford they wanted subways last weekend.

That’s what the mayor told media on Monday, responding to the recent campaign to revive an above-ground option for transit on Eglinton Ave.

“I was out in Scarborough over the weekend; people came up to me and said they want subways. That’s it,” he said.

Ford’s answer represents the same kind of anecdotal polling used in his other surveys — like the time he was facing criticism during the core service review and noted that wherever he went, “nine out of 10” people were telling him: “Rob, stay the course.”

The numbers are nearly impossible to check since his worship doesn’t make his schedule public and the media can’t tag along to these places of nearly unilateral support and uniform opinion.

Until now.

Since it’s public knowledge that Ford was at the Eglinton Square mall this past weekend for a “community walk” in his bid to lose weight, the rare chance to check in on Rob Ford’s polling sample presented itself.

The 20-kilometre Eglinton LRT was originally supposed to be built with 11 kilometres of track underground, and the rest above ground in a dedicated lane. Mayor Ford has been determined to bury the entire length of Eglinton LRT from Black Creek Dr. to Kennedy Station, and it seemed likely to happen with a memorandum of understanding with the province.

But in the past week, with Ford’s pet project of extending the Sheppard subway line looking increasingly unlikely to get external funding, TTC chair Karen Stintz floated the old idea of tunneling Eglinton only as far east as Laird Dr. That, she said, would save $2 billion for other transit plans, including a small Sheppard extension.

The idea quickly gained popularity on council, but Ford has been adamant the underground plan is what taxpayers want.

Ford’s most recent sampling of opinion was drawn, as he said, on the weekend at Eglinton Square, where people are just as likely to be regulars as occasional shoppers. It hums along at a gentle pace most weekdays, with seniors sitting on benches and parents bringing their children to a modest indoor playground.

When asked about transit dreams on Wednesday, the underground option indeed was top of the list. From Bash Subramanaim, 38, who remembers the joy of the Paris Metro, to Fred Wilson, 84, who delights in riding the new subway trains downtown, the idea of a subway glistens with opportunity and efficiency.

“There’s nothing better than a subway. Have you been to London and seen the tube there?” says Wilson, at the mall for coffee with “the boys.”

But mention the projected savings ($2 billion) of putting part of the Eglinton line above ground, and sometimes, a more nuanced answer emerges.

Underground is the way Wilson would choose if the funds were available, but “boy, that’s expensive,” the 84-year-old says of the $8.2 billion price tag.

He says the compromise of having parts of the Eglinton line above ground might be the next best thing. But he has concerns. Even in a dedicated lane, he worries, the street lights would impede flow — he estimates a minute at each intersection.

Pam Warrington Scott, 29, believes a subway is necessary, especially for people who work further east. She understands there is opposition to the underground plan, but her support is with the mayor, even if burying the line takes longer and costs more.

“I’m not huge on his other plans, but this is necessary,” she says.

Lana Smith, 34, thinks a subway is “ridiculous” and would be too costly. The buses she uses to get around Scarborough are good enough. She’d just like more frequent service, and bigger buses so she can ride with her children and a stroller at peak times.

Along Eglinton Ave. on Wednesday, the buses were appearing frequently, and interviews with transit riders were interrupted by the appearance of a bus.

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Back inside the mall, Edith Thomson also prefers buses. It never takes her too long to get anywhere in Scarborough, and up on the street, she says, “you see everything,” as opposed to the darkness of tunnels.

And Wilson, even though he prefers the efficiency of those tunnels, does see one problem with the idea. A more rapid system could drain people out of Scarborough and into the core of Toronto.

“This town centre might be affected,” he says.