A last minute dispute that threatened to derail Toronto’s new LRT projects appears to have been averted.
A report on the master agreement between the city, TTC, and Metrolinx that will govern the construction of four new light rail lines will go before council next Tuesday. Its approval is key to the LRT proejcts on Sheppard East, Finch West, Eglinton, and the Scarborough RT going ahead.
Some councillors had raised concerns about a section of the agreement that appeared to give Metrolinx the authority to reduce the number of stations on the rail lines. They warned that as costs for the Eglinton Crosstown increases the provincial agency might unilaterally decide to cut corners by eliminating some of its planned 26 stations, limiting its effectiveness as local transit.
But late Friday afternoon an advisor to TTC chair Karen Stintz confirmed that the report going to council will be clarified to address those concerns. The advisor, Jean-Pierre Boutros, wouldn’t comment on specifics of the changes however.
But Councillor Joe Mihevc, one of those who had criticized the agreement, says he has been advised of the revisions, and he’s now satisfied that Metrolinx couldn’t delete any of the stations without first consulting the public and the TTC.
Mihevc says the changes make clear that any reduction in the number of stations would go through an environmental assessment process that includes extensive public consultations, and be sent to a four-person panel made up of representatives of Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario, the city, and the TTC.
If that four-person panel failed to reach an agreement, the matter would be turned over to a binding dispute resolution process led by an independent panel.
“There’s enough checks and balances to make sure there is a lot of oversight, there’s a lot of input before they would act in a unilateral way,” Mihevc says. “It was good on their part to clarify that.”
The councillor also says he’s been personally assured by a Metrolinx representative that “they are not getting rid of any underground stations” on the Eglinton Crosstown line.
Jamie Robinson, Metrolinx director of communications for the LRT projects, would not confirm that such an assurance had been given.
Although the report going to council says the master agreement has been “finalized,” according to Robinson it has yet to be signed by any of the three parties.
“We’re close to having the agreement finalized,” Robinson says.
While the revisions have mollified Mihevc and other left-wing councillors who had raised objections about station numbers, next week’s council meeting could be a tense one for proponents of the LRT projects.
Council must approve the master agreement report in order to execute the complex real estate transactions the projects require and to designate to Metrolinx the necessary authority to build the lines.
At two special meetings in February and March, council voted 25-18 and 24-19 to build the four LRT lines. But since then some councillors have had second thoughts, arguing that the Scarborough RT should be replaced by a subway instead of light rail.
A source close to Stintz says the TTC chair has wrapped up enough votes to get the master agreement approved.
