Latest statement/opinion by the Etobicoke Centre MPP which was just emailed out:
"Dear Friends,
As you may know, last Monday staff from the City of Toronto held a consultation regarding the proposed Eglinton West LRT.
Thank you to all those who were able to attend.
Having you in attendance was important, because it ensured that your voice was heard by City of Toronto staff regarding this project.
Since this project was proposed, I have been advocating that the LRT must be tunnelled. I repeated this at the meeting on Monday night.
For those of you who were unable to attend, here is what we discussed:
- I made it clear that Councillor Stephen Holyday, Councillor John Campbell and I believe that the Eglinton LRT must be tunnelled, and that we have been advocating for a tunnelled LRT.
- I explained that this option would be best for drivers, transit riders, taxpayers and for the community.
- At the meeting, it was clear that City of Toronto staff had not studied tunnelling as I, Councillors Holyday and Campbell and our community have repeatedly asked.
- At the meeting, community members and I expressed that our desire for a tunnelled LRT has been clear since this project was proposed, and that we have repeatedly asked that City of Toronto staff properly study the option of tunnelling the LRT.
- What City of Toronto staff actually studied was the option of building the LRT along the road or along the road for almost the entire route with a single grade separation (one tunnel or bridge) at one intersection along the route. In other words, they studied the option of grade-separating only once at either Martin Grove, Kipling, Islington, Royal York or Scarlett.
- Staff have not studied tunnelling all the way along the route or tunnelling all five major intersections along the route.
- Where they did study grade separations, staff in some cases chose to study elevated grade separations (bridges) instead of tunnelling.
- I also believe that the City of Toronto staff's methodology is flawed:
- When assessing the merits of various options, City Staff put a lot of weight on certain criteria such as whether transit riders will need to climb stairs and put little to no emphasis on factors that are far more important such as:
- The impact on traffic or travel time: This was given very little, if any consideration. The disrupted traffic from at-grade infrastructure, 3-phase signals and elimination of left turns would increase gridlock along Eglinton substantially. Conversely, tunnelling would dramatically reduce travel time for transit riders and drivers.
- The impact of traffic infiltration into local communities was not considered.
- The resulting impact on safety along the corridor was not considered.
- Even when using the criteria chosen by the City, their analysis still makes no sense.
- For example, under their 'Experience,' 'Health' and 'Healthy Neighbourhoods' criteria staff concluded that tunnelling would be worse than building at-grade. This makes little sense as everyone knows that the transit rider and driver experience and the impact on community in terms of health would all be better if the LRT is tunnelled.
The next report from City Staff on the Eglinton LRT will be coming to City Council for consideration next week. You can view it by
clicking here.
If you share the concerns that we have about the LRT project, you can take action.
1. Before the City's Executive Committee meets on November 28, you can write to Mayor John Tory letting him know that you support our position that the LRT should be tunnelled and share our concerns about the design for the Eglinton West LRT.
Mayor John Tory
Email:
Mayor_Tory@toronto.ca
2. You can write to us letting us know that you support our position, which will help us to advocate on your behalf.
Yvan Baker, Member of Provincial Parliament, Etobicoke Centre
Email:
ybaker.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Councillor Stephen Holyday, Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre
Email:
Councillor_Holyday@toronto.ca
Councillor John Campbell, Ward 4, Etobicoke Centre
Email:
Councillor_Campbell@toronto.ca
To read more about our advocacy to tunnel the Eglinton LRT, see below for the latest update.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call my office at
416-234-2800 or email us at
ybaker.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org.
Early last year Mayor John Tory announced that he would no longer consider heavy rail on Eglinton Avenue as part of SmartTrack, and instead, would proceed with an LRT (light rail transit) from Mount Dennis to Pearson Airport. The plan originally proposed for the project was an LRT that would run along the middle of Eglinton Avenue on the surface of the road.
I believe that an LRT down the middle of Eglinton would be unacceptable and I have been fighting on your behalf, along with our local city councillors John Campbell and Stephen Holyday, to tunnel the LRT.
Tunnelling the LRT makes sense for many reasons.
- Tunnelling the LRT is better for drivers. Eglinton Avenue is already gridlocked. It is a major artery in Etobicoke. An at-grade, (meaning on the surface of the road) LRT would make traffic worse.
- Tunnelling the LRT is better for transit riders. We need to get Toronto moving. The right LRT plan will get people where they need to go when they need to be there. A tunnelled LRT would not be slowed by traffic or stop lights and move more quickly.
- Tunnelling the LRT is better for taxpayers. To keep Etobicoke's economy growing, we need to keep Eglinton moving. Tunnelling the LRT would keep people, goods, and services flowing between Toronto, Pearson Airport, Mississauga and the entire region. Tunnelling would also reduce long-term maintenance and upkeep costs.
- Tunnelling the LRT is safer for Etobicoke. Eglinton Avenue is gridlocked. The traffic spills over on local residential streets used by commuters as a shortcut. A tunnelled LRT would reduce safety concerns.
I have consulted extensively with our community, co-hosted a Transit Town Hall and a community consultation in Etobicoke with Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca.
I have also met on multiple occasions with the Premier, Mayor John Tory, and Minister Del Duca to advocate for tunnelling.
I am hopeful that City staff will analyze the traffic impact and study the business case for all the available options, including tunnelling the LRT from Scarlett to Martin Grove. This is important to me because it will enable City Council to make its next decision on how to build the LRT using all the facts and all the options.
Next steps are for City staff to produce a “Business Case Update” to Toronto City Council.
I have once again asked Mayor Tory and Minister Del Duca to ensure that the City of Toronto and Metrolinx perform a full business case and traffic impact analysis for all LRT options in this report, including tunnelling the LRT from Scarlett to Martin Grove.
I commit to you that I will continue to do all I can to ensure the City of Toronto tunnels the Eglinton LRT."
