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The Ontario government has announced the selection of the consortium that will construct the tunnels for the Scarborough Subway Extension. Transport Action Ontario (TAO) has long expressed concern with this project.
One claimed advantage of tunneling was that the existing Scarborough RT would not have to close during subway construction. With the revelation that a new deep-tube subway would not be finished until 2030, and that the RT will not run past 2023, that argument is moot. TAO continues to engage with elected officials at the City and Provincial level to advocate for consideration of various surface options, particularly the approach of constructing a branch line (“Smart Spur”) from the existing GO Transit commuter rail line. As this is a provincially-uploaded project, the Province has the final say.
A recent op-ed by noted transit experts Stephen Wickens, David Crowley, Bern Grush, Ed Levy and Richard Soberman points out the folly of the current subway plan and the much better alternatives that exist, including “Smart Spur”.