On December 16, Toronto Council debated and approved a motion by Mayor Chow regarding transit priority on 6 Finch West and more generally on the streetcar network.

1. City Council direct the City Manager, working with Metrolinx and the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to advance implementation of more aggressive, active transit signal priority at intersections along surface portions of the Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West, subject to contractual and legal obligations, and to provide an update on progress in the first quarter of 2026. 

2. City Council direct the City Manager, working with the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to report back in the first quarter of 2026 with a plan, including costs and staffing requirements, to implement further measures that improve streetcar network speed and reliability, including signal timing adjustments, a more aggressive transit signal priority policy, deploying traffic agents at key intersections to prevent blocked streetcars, and recommendations for removing on-street parking and restricting left turns during high-peak periods on key streetcar routes. 

3. City Council direct the City Manager, working with the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to report back in the first quarter of 2026 with a plan, including costs and staffing requirements, to expedite transit signal priority activations at intersections on the surface transit network where the required technology is not currently installed.

Later in this article, I will give a synopsis of the questions and statements by various members about this motion, but to begin, here are a few key points.

• The debate focused almost exclusively on Finch, although the motion deals with surface transit generally.
• Some members spoke of the need to move beyond assigning blame to fixing the problems on Finch. This gracious approach avoids important “lessons learned” about how not to open a major new transit line. These cannot be ignored, nor can recognition of where problems lie among various parties.
• From many comments by staff and councillors, it is quite clear that the slow speed of the route was known in advance of opening, indeed had been planned for years before. However, neither Council nor the TTC Board were informed of this.
• The glacial operation has been explained away as part of a natural “bedding in” process. However, the slow speed was not foreseen by Metrolinx whose FAQ page for the project still (as of Dec 18, 2025) claims a 33-34 minute trip at an average speed of 20-21 km/hr including stops.
• Advance publicity for the opening gave no hint of slow operations, and there is no mention of a frequent, parallel shuttle bus service to supplement the slow LRVs on the TTC’s Line 6 opening page.
• The actual speed of cars on the line is well below the claimed limits of 60 km/hr between stops, and 25 km/hr at stops and intersections. Something else limits driving speeds, such as importation of restrictive downtown streetcar practices, but this was never mentioned in the debate. Comments by staff showed that they thought the 60/25 km/hr speeds were typical when in fact actual speeds are much lower. A slow crossing speed at intersections increases the amount of time a transit only phase would take out of traffic signal cycles.
• There is a posted 10km/hr limit on the curve at Humber College Station which is likely permanent because the Citadis cars have troubles going around the corners which by downtown streetcar standards are quite generous. This is a design error between the curve radii and the capabilities of the cars that is likely unfixable.
• Some members mentioned Seattle as an example of active transit priority where left turning traffic comes second, not first, and cited this as an example of how LRT could operate faster.
• There was some confusion between automatic operation and speed limits imposed on manually operated LRVs. Routes that are completely grade separated can be driven automatically, but not a route in the middle of a street where access to the right-of-way cannot be controlled. Comparisons between systems in various cities needs to take the characteristics of each line into account.
• On the question of nearside vs farside transit stops, the overwhelming reason for the farside design is to provide space for a nearside left turn lane. Some stops are nearside because of space constraints. In any event, farside stops depend on good signal priority to avoid the “double stop” problem so common in Toronto.
• Reliability of the fleet and infrastructure are key responsibilities of the Metrolinx P3 partner, Mosaic. Information about failures is available in the TTC’s internal operating logs for the route, and I summarized these for Dec 7-12 in a recent article. Council was told that the TTC is cataloguing issues to work with Metrolinx and Mosaic, but was not given any details.
• Tracking of Line 6 vehicles for service reliability and to flag locations of delay is not yet possible because the TTC does not received a tracking feed comparable to what has long been available on its routes. This also affects trip prediction apps dependent on next vehicle information.
• On one hand, the City and TTC claim that until handover of Line 6 by Metrolinx, they could not make changes to the signal programming. However, staff revealed that a move for slower operation dates back at least to 2024, possibly to 2020, and was approved by all parties. Moreover, the handover took place well before opening day, and issues with poor signal priority would have been obvious during the TTC’s acceptance trials.
• Thanks to action at the political level, City staff are now working on data collection for intersection operations and possible signal timing changes to place a transit phase ahead of the left turn arrow. However, the length of this phase will be determined by the speed at which LRVs cross, possibly from a standing stop. Any modelling of new timings must be done in the context of achieving the alleged 25 km/hr speed at intersections.
• Although there has been talk in the transit community of slow operation on Line 5 testing even in the tunnels, this did not come up in debate. Any speed restrictions there will be completely the responsibility of Metrolinx.

Mayor Chow was quite clear that Line 5 Eglinton should not open until the issues found on Finch are corrected and Line 5 is updated accordingly. She noted that the City has traffic agents who can help, although this is likely more applicable to the downtown streetcar lines. Signal priority will be added on the surface transit network where it is not yet installed. Urgent work for Finch will be done soon with a report back to the TTC and Council in Q1 2026.

Chow also mentioned that the SRT busway will open in September 2026 thanks to a construction speed-up with more shifts and weekend work. This comment reveals that the original work plan for this project prioritized cost over faster completion.

The motion carried on a vote of 22-1 with only Councillor Holyday opposed. Councillors Mantas and Carroll were absent. Councillor Colle declared a conflict of interest (his son is an official at the TTC).

This section of the post gives an overview of the questions and statements from various members of Council, and the replies from City and TTC staff. To save space, the staff members are identified by their initials. This is rather long, but it saves readers listening to the whole debate.

• Derek Toigo (DT) Executive Director Transit Expansion, City of Toronto
• Roger Browne (RB), Director, Traffic Management, City of Toronto
• Josh Colle (JC), Chief Strategy and Customer Experience Officer, TTC
• Eric Chu (EC), Head – Project Development & Planning, TTC

One might wonder where the TTC CEO, Mandeep S. Lali, and the TTC Interim Chief Operating Officer, Fort Monaco, are in all of this debate. Colle appears to be carrying the can for management on this project.

Questions by Councillor Bravo:

• What speed limits are imposed on Finch trains, where and why?
  • DT: The speed on the right of way is 60 km/hr set by Council in June 2021
  • JC: The speed is set at 25km/hr approaching stops and at intersections.
• What was the origin of these limits?
  • JC: Originally from Metrolinx, and then from the TTC.
• Can they be changed?
  • JC: Yes, subject to safety concerns.
• How many nor performing vehicles and infrastructure are there?
  • JC: We are cataloguing this to work with Mosaic and Metrolinx. Some issues are not unexpected.
• Looking at other launches, should this have been advertised as a “beta”, not as a big launch with fanfare?
  • JC: We are not yet at full service hours. A soft launch is common.

My comments:

Note that Colle did not address the problem of over-publicizing what service would be like at opening day.

Questions by Councillor Myers (also TTC Chair):

• Why was more aggressive TSP not put in place before opening?
  • RB: City staff did not have purview to change the design, but we now have that ability provided we consult with Metrolinx.
• What about the claim that speed triggers higher cost?
  • DT: TTC needs to consult re higher speed to see if there’s an extra cost.
• Why farside stops?
  • EC: Best practice is farside.
• But it’s not working.
  • EC: We are reviewing the situation.
• When will the review come forward?
  • JC: We’re still working on it.
• What about stop removals?
  • JC: we’re looking at it and consult with councillors and communities. Once we know what we’re proposing, we will consult.
• What about parking [on streetcar routes]?
  • JC: We were told to look at stops, parking, etc, all together.
• What are the targets for improvement?
  • JC: We’re working on it route by route. A report will come to the TTC Board.

Questions by Councillor Saxe:

• Six months ago, Roger Browne and Josh Colle told the TTC’s Audit & Risk Management Committee that about 60% of TSP [Transit Signal Priority] signals were not in working order. What now?
  • RB: There are about 470 TSP locations in Toronto. Of these, 50 are offline for construction and other reasons.
• We have the slowest streetcars in the world per the UITP review in part due to mixed traffic. How much improvement has there been on Bathurst since it 511 got dedicated lanes?
  • JC: This is still a work in progress, and it’s too early to say on Bathurst. On Dufferin there has been a dramatic improvement.
• What have you done on Spadina and what is the result?
  • JC: A challenge is the number of stops and intersections and Union Station. There can be signal priority changes, but crossing streetcars must be taken into account.
• But you were told to fix Spadina. How many intersections do not have intersecting transit?
  • JC: Benefits will be known in January. There will be a report at the next board meeting.
• What else do you need?
  • JC: We have instructions from everyone, funding and prioritization.
• Recent Dundas changes worked.
  • JC : There was over a 20% increase on the affected section of Dundas.

Questions by Councillor Crisanti:

• What is the current speed of Finch?
  • JC: 25km/hr on approach to platforms. TTC is trying to aggregate speeds thru the day, but it’s obviously not 60kph? There will always be places where it runs faster and slower than 60max.
• Who is the authority on speed changes?
  • DT: Changes in the contract would be jointly by TTC,Metrolinx and the /Mlx/City.
• Does the CEO have authority to make operational changes? The operating speed is much less than the posted speed.
  • JC: We’re looking at anything we can do. Nobody takes issue that posted speed is not what cars are running at.
• Looking at dwells, terminal times, supervision: can anything be done now for better priority? What will be the effect on North-South traffic?
  • RB: We are gathering data and modelling better priority such as left turns first. The existing TSP only has basic green time extension. We are looking at lefts going before all.

Questions by Councillor Bradford:

• Metrolinx claims that they tested at 60. Who changed the speed?
  • JC: The City + Metrolinx decided it would be 25 km/hr at intersections and stops 2-3 years ago.
  • Bradford replied that it was as far back as 2020.
  • RB: The city could not intervene.
• When did the City and TTC get into a review?
  • RB: Only after turnover.
• The City’s Vision Zero policy dictates speeds at intersections.
  • DT: Road and guideway speeds are set by city bylaw. Intersection speed is up to the operational requirements of TTC.
• How fast could LRVs go?
  • JC: it’s a TTC operational requirement – it could go up to 60km/hr depending on alignment with and overlay of 25 at intersections.
• Can cars get to 80 km/hr?
  • JC: We would like to see it if safe and reliable, especially underground.
• [To Mayor Chow] How does your proposal ensure more accountability for customers?
  • Chow replied that until line 6 opened, Metrolinx had compete control. Until TTC had control we could not activate and manage the line. On the question of accountability, Chair Myers’ recent motion asks for review at the CEO level.

My comments:

Bradford’s last question is a veiled reference to his proposed free rides after a 15 minute delay.

Questions by Councillor Cheng:

• How long did we know in advance this line would be so slow?
  • JC: Our anticipation is that it will operate faster than now. The 25 km/hr speed has been known for years.
• What was the goal of service delivery?
  • JC: The goal was a round trip time at the scheduled 98 minute level.
• How fast is the line?
  • JC: This depends – sometimes we hit it the target, sometimes we are over.
• What is our projection?
  • JC: Yes we will hit 98 minutes.
• Beyond TSP, what other tools are available?
• What is the different between visit by the Councillor and by Josh Colle to Taiwan
  • JC: Station dwells, terminal changeovers, and door times were all different from Toronto.
• Do we have operators. Is the line automated?
  • JC: Yes [This answer is incorrect. Finch cars have speed limits imposed by signal system, but operators drive the cars.]
• Is this an international standard?
  • JC It’s a mix. [This answer misses the fundamental issue that Finch is in the middle of a road, not on an exclusive corridor. The same tech can be used in different ways.]
• How can we apply this experience to other projects?
  • JC: It is important how we communicate in the early weeks beyond basic technical learning.

Questions by Councillor Ausma Malik:

• What are ridership numbers on our streetcar lines, and what will be served by Finch?
  • JC: 220k/weekday on streetcars, 50K on Finch.
• How many intersections have TSP today?
  • RB: About 470.
• So TSP is not uncommon; the next step is more of it.
  • EC: TTC works with the City to add locations year by year.
• What is the City’s goal?
  • RB: Our mandate is to move as many people as possible, so TSP addresses that goal.
• What degree of improvement do we expect from TSP?
  • RB: Roughly double as par of the Congestion Management Plan. [Double what?]

Questions by Councillor Anthony Perruzza:

• What is end to end time now?
  • JC divides 98 (the scheduled time) by 2 and gets 47. It’s 49 obviously.
• We were told over many years that time would be 33 mins. Why the difference?
  • DT: Initial designs from Metrolinx had faster times faster, but over time as design progressed the TTC and City settled on a one-way time of 45-46 mins.
• Is 33 the best we could ever get?
  • JC reiterates how things changed as the design evolved.
• We were sold this on the basis of a 33 minute trip.
  • JC: These were much earlier planning stages.
• Why farside stops, not nearside, and better signal coordination? What is the engineering answer?
  • JC: Farside is common around world, but it should be tied with TSP to make it work.

My comments:

At no point did Colle acknowledge that Metrolinx still claims the shorter time on their website. Are they still overselling Line 6’s capabilities, or is this simply incompetent website maintenance by their Comms team?

Questions by Councillor James Pasternak:

• Was a Memorandum of Agreement signed by council?
  • DT: 15-16 years ago.
• Pasternak talked about average of speed vs the number and spacing of stops implying that there were too many on Finch West. However, the number and placement of stops came out of Council input.
• In Seattle transit goes first but here they wait, why?
  • RB: A review of the Toronto practice is in progress.
• Was a winter launch a mistake? Riders are grumpy at -30°C.
  • JC: A launch date is not an exclusive domain of one party. We do like opening when ridership is lower, and winter ridership might be lower. The Vaughan extension opened in December.
• Ontario and Canada logos are on trains, but not Toronto’s. Why? Or did we not contribute?
  • JC: The TTC logo is on the trains as we operate them, but the City was not a funding contributor.

My comments:

For the record, the Vaughan extension opened after several weeks of simulated revenue service where trains ran north to Vaughan, but carried no passengers. The trains were existing equipment that did not need to be “bedded in”. There were some teething problems with the new signal system, but these were resolved. No parallel bus service was required to supplement a dysfunctional subway.

Also, the Winter is historically a period of high ridership except when this is depressed by extreme weather conditions.

Questions from Councillor John Burnside:

• A round trip should take 98 minutes?
  • JC: Yes but we go from 98 to 120 now.
• What will TSP do?
  • RB: It will have benefits but we don’t know until we model the line. We believe there will be a notable benefit.
• Who makes decisions on each intersection? Are they all case-by-case?
• RB it’s a complex situation. We have to look at all of them. The design would be variable, but we would give the most possible to transit.
• Will local councillors be advised of changes or will it just happen?
  • RB: As we model these we will consult.
• There is a three phase signal at Eglinton & Leslie. How will this work?
  • RB: It depends. For example the pedestrian signal might be truncated to minimize red time.
• Would a phase in the cycle ever be skipped (e.g. dropping the left turns)?
  • RB: We would never skip a phase.

Questions from Councillor Stephen Holyday:

• Holyday asks what is “more aggressive” TSP that longer greens, shorter reds?
  • RB: If transit vehicle is present it goes before left turn.
• There would be a pause in the intersection?
  • RB: Yes, traffic would build up a bit more.
• What’s the effect?
  • RB: We’re trying to move the most people. There are more on transit than in the left turn queue.
• Holyday talked about left turns blocking tracks. After some exchange, it appears that he is talking about “blocking the box” problems downtown.
  • RB: All 21 intersections have a dedicated left turn phase + safety period to clear. We’re going to revisit signal timings and modifications including a more aggressive approach, e.g. at minor Spadina intersections.

Questions from Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin:

• With this approach can you take into account challenges at specific locations such as Leslie & Eglinton?
  • RB: That’s why we collect data.
• With a three legged intersection, could right turns be permitted during the transit phase?
  • RB: Yes.
• How does a signal know that train has gone through?
  • RB: There’s detection.
• The Councillor talks about this not working at Bayview & Eglinton, but Line 5 is underground at this point.
• Do we have Smart signals?
  • RB: Because of Metrolinx’ presence, things are more complex.

Speakers:

Following questions on the motion, members of Council speak starting with the Mayor who moved it. Under Council procedures, members can ask questions of the mover of a motion.

Mayor Chow:

The Mayor spoke of the excitement of finally being able to ride the Finch West line. She rode it twice, and described it as smooth, comfortable and quite quiet, but a bit slow”. Her motion asks for active signal priority rather than having trains wait for turning traffic. This is not the only change that can be made, and the City, TTC and Metrolinx are working together to speed up the line. We will hear about the results in January.

When we are ready to open Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown, Mayor Chow wants to see the same level of priority on the above ground portion of the line.

Toronto has traffic agents who can help manage intersections. TSP will be added on the surface network where it is not now installed. Urgent work will be done now with a report back to Council in the first quarter of 2026.

Another priority measure is the busway in the former SRT corridor. Construction will be sped up with more shifts and weekend work. [This begs the question of why such a clearly important was not planned on this basis from the outset.]

Councillor Holiday asked how much time will be saved by giving priority over left turns to transit. Mayor Chow replied that this information will come from the technical experts. Holyday pressed on asking what backlash might come from congestion. Would we not want to know the potential effects in advance of tinkering with signals? Chow replied she would not call giving priority to hundreds of riders in transit vehicles “tinkering”. Why should 4-5 people have priority over more transit? Having faster, more affordable transit is the best way to deal with congestion.

Holiday asked about major traffic backups in peak periods. How do we explain this? Chow replied that with the LRT running there would be far fewer buses competing for road space. Around the world, cities with the highest transit split have less congestion.

Holiday continued to paint the proposal as getting rid of left turns. Chow replied that she was a Councillor when the Spadina line went in, and the same arguments were used there. Provision for U-turns eliminated left turns at minor intersections.

Councillor Bravo asked what other measures have been taken to ensure Toronto is fighting congestion. Mayor Chow replied that before she arrived there were 2 traffic agents and there are now 100. There is now a financial incentive for construction companies to reduce lane occupancies by replacing a flat rate with an escalating one and charging more for blocking lanes on main streets. A lot of construction is now on side streets, she said. Traffic flow downtown is getting better.

Bravo noted that the provincial agency, Metrolinx, has been charged with transit expansion. They, and the provincial government want to see transit move as fast as possible and they are on board for any improvements.

Councillor Burnside asked the Mayor about congestion pricing. Chow replied that this is not in the City’s power, and it was twice rejected by the province. Cameras used for speed enforcement and to ticket motorists who “block the box” were also banned by the province. Why pursue policies that cannot be implemented? The City is considering more traffic agents and more enforcement.

Burnside joked that Mayor Chow might outlive the current government if she runs again, and Chow replied that the current Premier might not like that sentiment. She will not speculate, but the City will see what it can actually do.

Chow noted that many lane closures are not legal (no permit was obtained), and from a new City online dashboard Councillors can check if work is legal. The number one congestion problem is construction, and we will shut it down if it is not legal.

Councillor Bradford asked about the status of the traffic czar. Chow replied that she believes the person, an external candidate, has been hired and an announcement is to come.

Bradford asked how long the Mayor has been personally working on Line 6 with Metrolinx. Chow replied that the City only recently got control of the line, and signal design rested with Metrolinx until the handoff. Bradford stated that this is not what he has heard from staff.

He repeated his question and wondered why the Mayor is only taking action now when the policy for intersections was set some time ago. Chow fell back on the Ottawa LRT experience and the rush to implement service. There were two derailments and signal issues. The “bedding in” period is intended to find problems.

Other Speakers

After the mover, other Councillors can speak to the issue, but there is no Q&A session unless they move something of their own as an amendment. Nobody did so, and the statements went fairly quickly. The gist of them follows.

Councillor Holyday:

This is a sweeping proposal for all streets with streetcars. Ottawa should have taken its time. The proposal dashes to make changes, but with no report or answers on the effects. A separate LRT phase would take 10-20 secs of its own. We rush forward before defining the problem. The trips on Finch are 46 minutes by design. Again, Holyday cites the backlash against bike lanes on Bloor Street in Etobicoke.

Councillor Myers:

There is a loss of confidence in transit when it doesn’t perform. As TTC chair he has parallel motions to improve transit performance [see here and here]. Now we have support of the mayor. Cities around the world use TSP to make transit more reliable. Riders don’t care who owns what, just make it more reliable. Do what needs to be done.

Councillor Matlow:

An important lesson is to not just build a line, but to operate it well showing transit can be better. When promised rapid transit finally opens and is slower than bus, people are still choosing the shuttle bus. The fact that implemented TSP only benefits late vehicles is absurd, embarrassing.

What should have been a celebration turned into mockery. There is a dysfunctional relationship between Metrolinx, TTC and the City including demands for unhealthy start dates. Matlow wants answers – a public inquiry to understand past mistakes, and to prevent repeat. Projects such as Line 5 and 6 should plan to support businesses, not regard them as obstacles. Aggressive TSP should be implemented from the outset. We need to see transit being built and expanded and done well. Otherwise, people will not choose transit.

Councillor Saxe:

Affordability is an issue in Toronto. For people to be able to live car free using transit, they need good, fast, inexpensive ways to get around. Saxes cited a University of Toronto study which claims that investment in transit has a 7x multiplier for benefits, but this only works if transit shows up on time and can be depended on. This didn’t happen on Finch. The TTC Board was not told, and there was no info from Metrolinx [but what about their own staff]. Don’t do this on Crosstown. Don’t open it until it is faster than the bus. Meanwhile there is so much scope to make our streetcars better. We are in last place in the world for streetcar speed due to how we’ve chosen to operate intersections.

My comment:

The question of the TTC Board being in the dark is not just down to Metrolinx as TTC staff knew the testing was not achieving their planned schedule, but did not advise the Board. Were they pressured by Metrolinx to keep this information under wraps?

Councillor Bravo:

This is a big day. We’re at a turning point. There hasn’t been political will to give transit better priority, but now we have leadership from the Mayor. Without the public outcry we wouldn’t be here. Creation of an arms length agency plus external contracts was not the best way to build projects. The TTC and City are showing up to try to fix the problems. There is recognition that transit is important for economic development, climate change and social inclusion, but don’t raise expectations we cannot reach.

Councillor Bradford:

Opening a new transit line in a city that has historically had trouble doing this and not doing enough, should be a moment of pride. But what we have is a disappointment.

This isn’t about lowering the bar so we can step over it. The project was a decade in the making. Businesses were lost thanks to transit construction. We ought to be opening and nailing it, but the LRT is slower than buses. Data compiled by Steve Munro showed 69 delays over the first 6 days.

We’re bedding in? What have we been doing for the past year. 20 of the 69 delays were greater than 15 minutes. It feels like city hall wasn’t paying attention, asleep at the switch, blaming others. Metrolinx has been running vehicles at 60 km/hr, but the regulations on how vehicles move set how they actually run. Bradford says transit priority was disabled when TTC took over 6 days ago. Months of delay means riders wait longer in the cold.

My Comments:

The “6 days ago” comment raises an important issue about who was actually controlling the line during the TTC’s acceptance period, and how many problems were already known when the line began revenue service.

The data compiled by me came from official TTC logs of service. I simply condensed and published them in an easier to read format. The TTC should be doing something similar to clarify the types and sources of delay.

Councillor Pasternak:

For decades Toronto asked others to pay for transit expansion. Now that we have a provincial corporation we beat them up at every opportunity. This line is not perfect but it’s open. With 18 stations in 11 km you will never get up to claimed speed. It is about 15 yrs since Toronto signed MOA, and that was the time to identify problems.

Where we can fix something is on left turns. Pasternak cites Seattle where trains go first. We can improve “realities on the ground” to make it go faster. We’re here to try to iron out problems.

Councillor Perruzza:

We’re used to a whole lot of criticism from people who don’t know the neighbourhood. When he got on trains there was euphoria. People were used to the 36 Finch West bus with standing room only, and waiting for buses with room to board. Finch is the go-to street. Sheppard doesn’t go through, and Steeles is plugged. People who have shifted to the LRT will not go back to buses.

Perruzza made an analogy to nearside vs farside stops for buses. We will get vehicles up to speed. People will eventually get from Keele to Humber College in 33 mins.

We now have bike lanes, but also have turn lanes and eliminated a bunch of turns into plazas that delayed buses.

Deputy Mayor Malik:

We have been making changes to deal with congestion. A key way to improve is to make moving people better. Finch is not in her ward, but downtown she is working with the City and TTC to improve operations. We have to prioritize transit, and make it better for residents and visitors.

Installation of red lanes on Bathurst below Dundas just finished. There are choices we can make. Over 100 new TSP intersections were installed in the past 2.5 years and they show demonstrable improvement. We need to continue making choices that improve transit right away.

Councillor Perks:

In 2002 a group of activists, Rocket Riders (now TTCRiders) including Steve Munro said tell us what we can do at what cost to improve transit. There were two outcomes: the Ridership Growth Strategy and Transit City. By the proposed timelines, Finch would have opened in 2013. Funding and design were in place, but the plan was killed for subways and P3s.

Don’t build transit by slogans. An ad jingle doesn’t make your trip better. Do simple things like buying more buses and running them more often.

PPPs do not work. They are PPPPPPs. [This is a line going back to Howard Moscoe, a former Councillor and TTC Chair: “Public Partner Pays, Private Partner Profits”.] All the complaints from some of the more conservative councillors happened while the P3s laughed all the way to the bank.

When the province comes to you with a plan, if someone comes with an ad slogan, if someone wants to blame staff when their power to run transit properly was taken away, just say no.

Councillor Crisanti:

Crisanti supports the Mayor’s plan.

Local councillors know their communities best. The local knowledge is important input to report coming back. He is a bit concerned about how traffic agents will work. After 7 years, his constituents say it’s not LRT, but LST. [Slow, not Rapid] We need to do a better job of communicating about a soft opening.

Etobicoke North is the only part of Toronto without direct access to a subway. We don’t have full autonomy, and operational adjustments are decided in consultation with Mosaic + Mosaic. Crisanti looks forward to the report in 1Q26, and is advocating for an LRT extension to the new GO station [Woodbine].

Speaker Frances Nunziata:

There were issues when Finch West opened, but there will always be “bumps”. She has been waiting since 1994 for Eglinton to open claiming that the Liberals were in power, but it was actually the Bob Rae NDP, and the Mike Harris Tories killed the work then in progress.

Rather than blaming everyone, Nunziata wants Council to try to make everything better.