02-14-2017, 03:03 PM
(02-14-2017, 02:08 PM)Canard Wrote: How is cancelling 7 LRT lines not Rob Ford's fault? It was the first thing he did on Day 1 in office! He orphaned more than half of the LRV order. Crosstown (and maybe Finch) are the only survivors.
Let’s be clear, Rob Ford was one of the worst politicians in Canadian history. I disliked him so intensely, I — no joke — wish he had lived to be the oldest person in the world and witness a Toronto in which every major street has lanes dedicated to LRT lines.
But in terms of Transit City, he said on 2010-12-01 that Transit City was dead. Several of the lines were to my recollection already not in the immediate plan due to Provincial changes. At that time, construction on Sheppard was imminent, with some early works already in progress (specifically, a rail grade separation). In 2012, less than two years later, City Council voted to re-instate the remaining portion of Transit City. It was due to Provincial changes in priorities that construction on Sheppard did not promptly resume, and the SRT replacement and Finch lines move forward to construction. I don’t remember the exact time lines, but by now I believe all those lines were supposed to be open for multiple years under the original timeline.
So Rob Ford was responsible for maybe a two-year delay in Transit City. The rest is Provincial government dithering.