The subway versus Light Rail Transit (LRT) to the far reaches of Scarborough is an argument at Toronto City Hall with little common sense to it. What we are hearing is not a cogent conversation as to the pros and cons of one system over the other. One side of the issue seems to be reacting to the other side and neither is making sense or headway. And neither side is about to capitulate.
It will certainly not be Mayor Rob Ford who surrenders. You might not want to put high value on his arguments—or lack thereof. The problem he presents is that he seems to be seeing further into the future than the LRT proponents. He is arguing for capacity that will not be needed until years after he is gone. And there is no question but subways have the capacity that Toronto is going to need in the future,
But his plan is about 100 years too late. If Toronto’s planners of the 1920s had all had the verve and vision of those who knew to design the Prince Edward Viaduct ready for subway cars, Toronto would be the envy of the world today.
But the reality is that the Toronto of today is behind the curve. The city’s infrastructure is crumbling as time has passed it by. Costs keep skyrocketing as politicians dither.
You can blame some of this on the group of shallow and callow city politicians that make up the left wing of council. This group is vitriolic in its attacks on anything proposed by what they consider the pompous right. They seem to want a pyrrhic victory over any progress for their city. They destroyed the opportunity for Woodbine to finally have a casino with their narrow minded cant. They dishonour the left who left them there.
But, despite their narrow-minded support, LRT is a solution for the long reaches of suburbia. The Eglinton Avenue mix of below and above ground LRT is an ideal solution to mid-range, long-run, frequent stop transit that would be prohibitively costly if configured as a subway.
Any city planner can tell these foolish politicians that there is no one ideal answer to meeting the needs for an accessible city. It is the mix of solutions that bring people together and send them home safely at night.
-30-
Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]