The Toronto Star broke the York University subway extension story yesterday. The cost? $1.5 billion dollars.

While we agree that a mass transit system is needed to connect north-western Toronto and York University to the city's core, there are more cost-effective ways to do it. For about a generation now Ottawa has used a dedicated bus system that is almost as effective as a subway at a fraction of the cost.

1. Should a subway reach York University during my (or the University’s) lifetime, I will be profoundly grateful. In the nine years I’ve researched and taught at York, the lengthy and burdensome journey to the University by public transit has become increasingly unbearable. From where I live (the Junction) it’s a faster trip by bike, even notwithstanding the risks of being crushed by an errant tractor-trailer on Keele Street.

   York is a huge community of 50,000 students, plus thousands more faculty members and staff. But a subway extension will do far more than serve York. It will also provide a much-needed transit hub for commuters who travel from Vaughan and elsewhere. Instead of driving downtown, many of these commuters will elect to travel by subway, thereby alleviating some of the City’s traffic congestion and likely reducing strain on its air quality. A subway extension will also provide much-needed service improvements in the Jane & Finch area, where many thousands of transit users have been woefully underserviced for years. Finally, a subway line will encourage medium and high density development in underbuilt areas within the urban fabric.

   I agree that Ottawa’s dedicated bus routes are effective—in their context: in a small(ish) city partly underlain by rock. In my view, long-term transportation planning in Toronto necessitates this and other subway extensions.

   Posted by Amy Lavender Harris  on  03/08  at  01:20 PM

2. Although it is troubling that the province is so eager to fund a subway that’s well down the TTC’s priority list, I don’t think a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system like Ottawa’s Transitway provides a better answer. (It’s also worth noting that Ottawa’s biggest transit expansion plans these days involve the light-rail (LRT) O-Train.)

   BRT systems have their place, but don’t seem to do as well as rail in getting people out of their cars and discouraging sprawl. A study of 8 mid-sized North American cities found bus-only cities had only half the transit use of cities with both bus & rail services. E.g. from 1990-1996, in Ottawa ridership shrunk 21% while in Calgary it grew 19%. Population growth was similar, but Calgary was investing in its C-Train system.

   As for urban form, there are remarkable aerial photos of the Yonge and Bloor corridors where you can guess the location of the subway stations from the high-density clusters (surrounded by traditional, tree-lined neighbourhoods). From my experience on the ground in Ottawa, I’d say the effect of a Transitway station is much less.

   York Region plans to grow 72% from 2001 to 2021. A subway on their doorstep, aligned for an extension to downtown Vaughan, just might be the incentive they need to make that growth transit-friendly.

   Posted by Matt  on  03/08  at  06:39 PM

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