Cost of cancelling Transit City could hit $65 million

The Globe and Mail:

Just as Mayor Rob Ford is trying to squeeze every penny out of Toronto’s budget, news comes that the city is bracing for a $65-million bill for a transit plan he cancelled on his first day in office.

The multimillion-dollar price tag is the latest estimate for cancelling the Sheppard and Finch light-rail lines – part of former mayor David Miller’s Transit City plan. It comes as the city’s transit users are facing fare hikes and reduced service, measures planned for the new year to meet the mayor’s demands for a 10-per-cent budget cut. The new expense surfaced Tuesday during budget discussions, where city councillors also weighed the merits of closing pools and community centres in order to save dollars.

The new $65-million cancellation cost is the second surprise in less than a week from the TTC. Last week, Mr. Webster revealed to the same budget committee that Scarborough commuters will have to bear four years of bus service while their rickety LRT is replaced.

Critics of the mayor lamented that this latest discovery is more evidence of the sorry state of long-term transit planning. “At the end of the day we are blowing the public transit agenda of this city,” said councillor Joe Mihevc, a past TTC commissioner.

“Imagine if we had spent $65-million actually delivering rapid transit,” said Councillor Adam Vaughan. “Instead, what we have is a budget that is about shrinking resources and in some cases tragically misspending resources.”

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