Onetime Toronto subway lover transfers support to LRT
However, underground and elevated systems are cheaper to operate, faster, safer,and more reliable than at street level systems, because they don’t cross road intersections.
The Toronto StarDaveOnetime Toronto subwayAi?? lover transfers support to LRT
JesseAi?? McLean Staff Reporter
Ai??A small group ofAi?? protesters rallied outside City Hall Saturday to say Mayor Ford should be fired,Ai?? not former TTC manager Gary Webster, who was axed “without just cause” onAi?? Tuesday.Larry Peloso was once a staunch supporter ofAi?? Toronto getting more subway routes.Envious of the serpentine systems in London, NewAi?? York and Paris, the freelance creative director thought his city deserved moreAi?? than ai???two stupid little lines.ai???
But as councillors and Toronto Mayor Rob FordAi?? sparred over transit plans, he decided to research the issue and make his ownAi?? opinion. He decided light rail makes the most sense for the city.
ai???Itai??i??s more community-oriented,ai??? he said. ai???AboveAi?? ground, transit becomes part of the fabric of the street and services theAi?? community better.ai???
There is also a plan in place to pay for it, heAi?? said.
ai???The funding is right there, in place. Ford hasAi?? been talking about subways for a year and we still have no idea where theAi?? funding is coming from.
ai???The timeai??i??s now. Good transit is longAi?? overdue.ai???
Peloso, 56, is not alone in his new-foundAi?? support for light rail. A recent Toronto Star poll found Torontonians areAi?? evenly split on whether to forge ahead with new subways or lightAi?? rail.
However, 57 per cent of the 801 residentsAi?? surveyed in the online poll said they were ai???unwilling to pay for subways throughAi?? road tolls or other increased fees or taxes,ai??? compared to 35 per cent who wereAi?? warmer to the idea of tolls. The poll was conducted by Angus Reid Public OpinionAi?? and has a margin of error of 3.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.
Ford has rejected the use of tolls, but recentlyAi?? hinted at a possible levy on private and pay parking lots designated to helpAi?? fund a Sheppard subway expansion.
The lack of firm details on how to fund Fordai??i??sAi?? subway model, however, is the reason some believe the poll also found thatAi?? residents have more faith in city council in handling transit issues than theyAi?? have in the mayor. Just over half of the respondents said they have ai???no trustai??? in Ford on transit/commuter issues.
ai???More and more people are actually looking intoAi?? the details of the transit plans ai??i?? they want to understand them,ai??? saidAi?? Councillor Josh Matlow, who supported the council-approved plan to build above- and below-ground light rail lines.
ai???I think most people in Toronto are beginning toAi?? recognize while the mayorai??i??s bumper sticker rhetoric may sound good, heai??i??s neverAi?? told them how his false promises will ever come to be.ai???
Peloso agrees. Never one to consider himself anAi?? activist, he co-organized a protest Saturday calling for Fordai??i??s firing after theAi?? mayorai??i??s allies axed TTC chief general manager Gary Webster. (Halfway into theAi?? demonstration, only about 20 people had shown up. They were outnumbered by thoseAi?? skating on the nearby rink at Nathan Phillips Square.)
Councillor Norm Kelly of Scarborough-Agincourt,Ai?? a supporter of the subway plan, said itai??i??s important to consider which plan willAi?? be better decades down the line.
ai???Itai??i??s a difference between cost and value. Letai??i??sAi?? do what we can afford. It might not be the best thing to do,ai??? he said. ai???TheAi?? value option is to figure out what the best rapid transit system would be forAi?? the city of Toronto.ai???
One way of financing it would be to add a 0.5Ai?? per cent sales tax within the city limits and allocate the revenue strictly toAi?? building subways, he said.
With files from DavidAi?? Rider
