Political leaders in York Region are backing Premier Doug Ford’s plan to have the province take ownership of Toronto’s subway network, arguing it could help secure the construction of a controversial transit project north of the city’s border.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti released a statement Wednesday saying the Ontario Progressive Conservative government’s proposal to upload the Toronto Transit Commission subway system could put a stop to the “never-ending jurisdictional issues” he suggested had delayed the completion of the Yonge subway extension to Richmond Hill.

“I support the uploading proposal if it means we will finally get shovels in the ground for this critical transit project,” he said.

The five-stop Yonge extension would cost at least $5.6 billion and push the TTC’s Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) 7.4 km north from Finch Station, with two stops on the border between Markham and Vaughan, and one at Richmond Hill Centre.

The TTC and Toronto council members have expressed grave concerns about the project because it would add passengers to Line 1, which is already effectively at capacity.

City council voted in May 2017 to advance planning work on the Yonge extension, on the condition the relief line subway be in operation before the extension. The relief line would divert some passengers away from Line 1 and many experts consider it the city’s most pressing transit priority.

However, council’s wishes could hold little weight if the province takes ownership of the network, and Ford’s government decides to push the subway into York Region where his Progressive Conservatives enjoy strong political support.

In an interview Thursday, Scarpitti appeared to break from an agreement he announced with Mayor John Tory, York Region Chair Wayne Emmerson and Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow last year, in which the leaders said they would join forces to ensure that the relief line and Yonge extension proceed at the same time.

Scarpitti told the Star he could envision a scenario in which he would support the Yonge extension opening before the relief line.

“Both need to go full steam ahead,” he said. But he added: “It would be craziness to ever say if the Yonge subway got into some issues during construction, well please stop the downtown relief line because we’ve got into some problems, or vice versa.”

He said the Yonge extension is badly needed to serve York’s growing population, and dismissed concerns the project would overburden Toronto’s existing subway network as “hogwash.” Scarpitti predicted planned improvements such as expanded GO Transit service and Tory’s SmartTrack plan would increase capacity on the regional rail network and allow for more people to use Line 1.

Emmerson also said Thursday he supported the province’s plan to take ownership of the subways, and argued the Yonge extension should proceed with or without the relief line.

“If they have some issues with the relief line, we don’t want that to stall the Yonge subway,” he said.

Emmerson asserted building the Yonge extension “will not have any impact” on crowding on Line 1, and said Toronto’s subway network could handle additional riders.

“We feel there’s still room for more,” he said.

Barrow also voiced support for the subway upload on the grounds that it would help create a more regional transit system. But he said the Yonge extension shouldn’t take precedence over the relief line.

“We know that there’s an issue with the Yonge St. line being very busy,” he said in an interview.

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Line 1 is already overcrowded, according to a May 2017 city report. It has an optimal capacity of 28,000 passengers per hour per direction, but on a typical weekday carries 28,300.

The city is investing in measures to increase capacity. But one of those initiatives, a $560-million signalling project called automatic train control (ATC), has been placed under review amid concerns about whether it can actually deliver the promised improvements. The TTC had previously said it could increase capacity by as much as 28 per cent.

The first phase of the relief line would connect the eastern end of Line 2 with downtown, and would divert some existing passengers from Line 1 south of Bloor-Yonge station. But even if the project, estimated to cost more than $6.8 billion, opens as scheduled by 2031, the addition of the Yonge extension could push the system past capacity, according to city planners.

“Mayor Tory and TTC staff have been clear that the relief line must be built before the Yonge line can be extended north,” said Tory’s spokesperson in an email responding to the York leaders’ comments.

Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22 St. Paul’s), who has been one of the relief line’s strongest advocates on council, said it would be “lunacy” for the Ontario government to take ownership of the subway and allow the Yonge extension to proceed before the relief line.

“The implication is that some mayors along with Premier Ford may end up spending billions of dollars to build a tunnel and find that all those people in the regions outside of Toronto will find themselves in gridlock and congestion as they try to get on an already overcrowded subway system,” he said.

At Queen’s Park Thursday, Transportation Minister John Yakabuski was coy about whether the Yonge St. subway line could be extended north.

“There are a lot of projects that are on the table that have been discussed and talked about and we have an absolute ironclad commitment to making that transit experience better,” said Yakabuski.

“As to specific projects we have nothing to report at this time.”

Neither the relief line nor the Yonge extension are currently funded, although the provincial and federal governments promised to spend a combined $9 billion for Toronto transit projects earlier this year.

With files from Robert Benzie.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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