Miller promises more dedicated transit routes

CTV.ca News Staff

Mayor David Miller unveiled his transit plan on Tuesday, promising to add more dedicated bus lanes and increase the efficiency of the current system.

Miller pledged to "make streetcars and buses as speedy and reliable as the subway" by expanding the number of dedicated transit rights-of-way routes, including on Yonge Street from Finch and Steeles avenues, and on Kingston Road from Victoria Park to Eglinton Avenue.

He said the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way, for example, has half the capacity of a subway for less than one-tenth of the price.

Miller also said he would:

• Increase "light rapid transit" along Queen's Quay and along Don Mills from Steeles to the downtown;
• Extend the Spadina subway line to York University and into Vaughan;
• Develop a Metropass affinity program to encourage businesses to offer discounts to customers who use a Metropass;
• Work to create a U-Pass for university and college students;
• Speed up the implementation of Toronto's bike plan; and
• Support the construction of a rail link to the airport that protects and serves local communities.

Miller said the proposal from opponent Jane Pitfield to build two kilometres of subway track each year for the next 25 years is not feasible. He said the city doesn't have the kind of money to build the expensive subway lines.

"My vision for the future of Toronto is a city that moves by public transit," Miller told supporters and the media.

"Our city's big and growing fast -- we can't wait for subways to be constructed."

Miller, who often leaves his car at home and rides the TTC to work, also said he is considering:

• A dedicated transit corridor along Finch Avenue to open a new route that connects north Etobicoke and north Scarborough to the subway;
• Establishing a west waterfront rapid transit line that will connect west Etobicoke to Union Station;
• Extending and upgrading the Scarborough RT into Malvern and beyond;
• Building dedicated rapid transit along Eglinton Avenue that will connect to the St. Clair street right-of-way to the airport; and
• Building a rapid transit connection that will connect the Sheppard subway to Scarborough Town Centre.

Miller promised to purchase quiet, faster, higher-capacity light rail cars to replace Toronto's aging streetcars, and improve the capacity of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway by 40 per cent through "new trains and innovative signal management systems."

"Good, reliable public transit is at the core of a prosperous, livable city that provides opportunity for all," he said.

"By expanding the TTC, building new ways for people to get around and offering incentives to use public transit, we can make Toronto an even better city in which to live and work."

Meanwhile, Pitfield introduced her platform on multiculturalism on Tuesday, saying the city is too fragmented and immigrants don't feel as welcome as they should.

If elected, she promised to hold town hall meetings in 140 separate neighbourhoods.

Pitfield also vowed to offer tax breaks to business owners who hire new immigrants, but did not outline any specifics.