ASK WILLOWDALE RESIDENT David Slotnick what he thinks about the new Finch Avenue Light Rail Transit system that received funding from the Ontario government last month, and his answer might surprise you.
“The what?”
His response, though, is typical of many Bayview residents, according to Coun. David Shiner.
“It’s all a fog around here what’s happening with these LRT lines,” he said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty announced last month that the province will fork up the estimated $1.4 billion to pay for the project.
“We need to move quickly to build a better public transit system for commuters,” he said at the announcement.
Some studies have been completed for the line that will run from Yonge Street west to Humber College. But Metrolinx and the Toronto Transit Commission are now hoping to extend the line east to Don Mills Road and then south to Don Mills subway station.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” said transit advocate Steve Munro, a past winner of the Jane Jacobs Prize. “They have to figure out where you can fit a surface LRT on Finch Avenue and whether any of it has to be underground.”
Munro said the public hasn’t been consulted in the planning process and that if construction will go ahead as scheduled, in the fall of this year, there could be some problems on the way.
“This is something that Metrolinx is going to have to wrestle with,” he said. “The premier wants it built yesterday, but people get a bit testy when
you say you’re going to build something in their front yard without telling them. This has the makings of a serious political battle along Finch Avenue.”
“I think everybody’s in agreement that it’s a good idea,” said Brad Ross, the director of communications at the TTC. He said there will be public information sessions in June, but that the dates, times and locations have yet to be determined. The community will have an opportunity to express their opinions at those meetings.
“If things came up during these sessions that we hadn’t thought of, it’s unlikely, but nonetheless, we would take that into consideration.”
The 36 Finch Bus would be replaced by the LRT, with stops approximately 800 metres apart.
