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And now, away we go again. Torontonians learned last week that the one-stop extension is projected “only” to carry 7,300 passengers from Scarborough Town Centre to Kennedy station during the morning rush — not 11,100 and not 14,000, numbers which had been floating around beforehand.

And it was back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Coun. Paul Ainslie, a subway apostate among Scarborough councillors, told the Starlast week that yet another “conversation” might have to take place at City Hall, because his constituents say they want “the best bang for the buck.” Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker is again insisting that Scarborough simply deserves a subway like everyone else, as if it were some kind of constitutional entitlement.

Matlow still argues the original LRT plan could be revivable, and that the original SRT alignment deserves far more serious study. “We’re talking about hundreds of millions, billions of dollars (extra) here, and there’s just so many other things that we need to spend it on,” he said. The subway, which former mayor Rob Ford championed, comes at roughly a $1.5-billion premium, to be paid off over 30 years through property taxes.

News reports suggested shock and intrigue. The “new figure” had been “quietly” revealed at a Tuesday evening public consultation session in Scarborough, we learned. And some residents in attendance were reportedly aghast: Good heavens, only 7,300? Perhaps the LRT was best after all!