Ford rules out public inquiry as officials laud completion of Eglinton Crosstown

After 15 years of construction in Toronto's Little Jamaica, residents say the community’s identity has been lost after small businesses were forced to close.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford ruled out a public inquiry into the delays on the Eglington Crosstown Friday as officials from all levels of government lauded the imminent opening of the long-delayed transit line.

“No, we aren’t going to do that,” Ford said when asked about an inquiry at a news conference to unveil a plaque for the Crosstown. “We’re going to move on and continue building the subways. We all know the mistakes and we’ve acknowledged them, and we’ve learned.”

He added “we’re moving forward” and said an inquiry would be a waste of time.

“We’re building the largest transit system in North America. There’s going to be bumps in the road,” Ford said, adding that the mistakes from the Crosstown will be avoided in other major transit projects that are underway now, such as the Scarborough subway extension and the Ontario Line.

However he did acknowledge the Crosstown project has been a “nightmare.”

Construction started back in 2010 under the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty, and dragged on through two more premiers to finish six years late and more than $1 billion over budget.

Ford said despite the many delays and inconveniences to the community, the new line will ease congestion and make it easier to get around the city going forward. He noted it took him an hour to drive along Eglinton to get to Yonge Street from Etobicoke in morning traffic.

Still he couldn’t help but give a nod to his late brother, former mayor Rob Ford, who famously insisted that people want subways and tried to move the entire line underground when he was mayor.

“I remember one mayor saying ‘subways, subways, subways.’ I guess he got it right. But we should have done that and finished,” Ford said with a smile.

The new Crosstown line runs underground from roughly Keele to Laird, but above-ground at either end of the city between Mt. Dennis and Kennedy stations. That has led to some concern about potentially sluggish performance, especially given some of the problems encountered by the recently opened Finch West LRT.

Mayor Olivia Chow said Friday that some signal priority will go online for the Crosstown in a couple of weeks, giving trains priority at traffic signals. However officials have previously said signal priority will not be fully implemented on the line until May at the earliest.

She said the line will offer riders “a smooth, reliable alternative to crowded busses along Eglinton” and added the TTC is taking a “thoughtful approach” to opening the line in partnership with Metrolinx.

“The Crosstown delivers what Toronto needs, a vital east-west rapid transit link that tackles congestion and gets people where they need to go,” Chow said.

Officials have said there will be a phased opening of the line, ramping up to full service hours gradually.

Both Ford and Chow paid tribute to communities along the line that have endured years of traffic disruption, noise, dust and harm to local businesses to make the line happen.

“Most importantly, thank you to the communities along this line. Your patience through years of construction has made this possible,” Chow said.

Addressing some of the criticism around the project, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said lessons have been learned and are being applied to future projects.

He pointed out that station excavation is now complete at all stops for the Ontario Line and work is beginning to build them. He also echoed Ford’s message about moving forward with the Crosstown instead of reviewing the mistakes.

“Notwithstanding the challenges, I’m very optimistic that collectively, we will recover a sense of pride in this project, because it is world class, and it is going to be a game changer for the residents of this community,” Lindsay said.

The Eglinton Crosstown is expected to open on Sunday morning, with free rides all day to celebrate the opening of the line.