Downtown relief subway line is a top priority: TTC

A pedestrian uses a mobile phone while walking in front of a streetcar in downtown Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. (Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Toronto Transit Commission Board confirmed that construction of a downtown relief transit line – built to take some of the pressure off the current subway grid – is a top priority.

The board also stipulated that the construction of a downtown relief line is required before the Yonge-University line is further expanded.

The first phase of the proposed relief subway line would connect Pape Station to St. Andrew Station. A second phase would extend the new line westward to Dundas West Station. A third segment would take the project north to Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue.

The first phase of the line is estimated to cost up to $3.2 billion.

TTC CEO Andy Byford told reporters that despite its name, the relief line is actually intended to serve residents in the suburbs.

“Downtown relief line is a bit of a misnomer,” he said. “It’s not some sort of private shuttle for people living downtown, around college and king and queen, it is intended to help people from the suburbs come into downtown.”

TTC Chair Karen Stinz said a downtown relief line should not interfere with approved plans for four new LRT lines. These lines, which will serve communities in the suburbs, must remain a priority, said Stinz.

“Well areas of the suburbs right now that are currently being served by buses are not being adequately served,” she said. “So it’s critical that we bring light rail into those communities to make sure they have access to higher order transit.”

Proponents of the downtown relief line say the line would bring commuters downtown, but divert them away from the crowded Yonge-Bloor transfer point.

While the idea of a relief line has been talked about for years, a new staff report on overcrowding and increasing ridership made a strong case for the relief line.

The Downtown Rapid Transit Expansion Study estimates that ridership into the downtown core will rise by 55 per cent by 2031.

The downtown relief line will be discussed in city council next week.

After endorsing the idea of a relief line, the board reopened the idea of replacing the Scarborough RT with a subway.

Transit commissioners voted to ask staff for a study on the merits of converting the aging RT into a subway, instead of the proposed LRT, and bringing it up to the existing Sheppard line to close the loop.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the TTC also decided to proceed with their plan to bring cellphone service onto the underground subway platforms.

The TTC is aiming to equip all platforms with cellphone service within two years.

Under the proposed agreement, wireless operator Broadcast Australia Ply. Ltd., will pay the TTC $25 million over 20 years to get the job done.

Another $8,000 will be tacked on for each station that requires a design review.

To help the process along, the TTC would hire a project manager to oversee the installation of the network and related changes to station design.

Wireless service at Toronto’s subway stations has been a long time coming, with the TTC inviting interested companies to submit proposals in December 2009.

In addition to Broadcast Australia, bids were also submitted by Bell Mobility and Chicago-based Extenet Systems.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Natalie Johnson