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Ontario to Ford: Council is Supreme

In a press conference this afternoon, Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli encouraged Rob Ford to work as a partner with the council and the province.

Yesterday, after city council voted to overturn Rob Ford’s decree and reinstate a previously agreed-upon plan for light rail lines with the province, the mayor dismissed the decision entirely. Speaking to reporters a few minutes after voting, he said he was “very confident” the province would continue building subways. And then he went on: “Technically, [...]

Youth Charity Tries to End a Contentious Transit Week on a High Note

Why the TTC will be full of singing teenagers on Friday, but that's a good thing.

Be sure to bring some extra change if you’re taking a TTC trip tomorrow. No, there hasn’t been a fare increase secretly included in this week’s transit upheavels. But there may be a mob of teenage mimes at the subway station asking, in their way, for spare cash and TTC tokens. It’s all part of [...]

Transit Debate Crib Sheet: Key Votes and Reaction Roundup

If you missed the play-by-play of yesterday’s transit debate, we’ve put together a summary of all the key facts, figures, and reactions to get you caught up. The Proposals That Passed This is based on a binding Memorandum of Agreement the City signed with the province in 2009, with a plan to build several light [...]

Liveblog: Transit Showdown at City Hall

After months of debate and weeks of mounting tension, city council meets today to decide what transit plan they support.

COUNCIL OVERTURNS FORD, RESTORES LIGHT RAIL PLAN BY A VOTE OF 25-18 Quick reference; live updates follow below: The Coalition Plan This is based on a binding Memorandum of Agreement the City signed with the province in 2009. Karen Stintz is introducing a multi-part proposal that extends that MOA (which would making it council’s endorsed [...]

Newsstand: February 8, 2012

What's German for Wednesday? Mittwoch. Now that you know, some news: the battle over transit continues (though some councillors just want to know WTF is going on), drivers everywhere groan as parking fines threaten to rise, Toronto schoolkids turn reading into a sport, and Toronto Hydro equipment is likened to dinosaurs.

For those looking forward to a good scrap, Rob-Ford-versus-TTC-Chair-Karen-Stintz–styles, today’s your day: councillors did not reach a last-minute agreement last night regarding Stintz’s proposal to resuscitate Transit City, so that special council meeting will run as planned this morning. Though it’s a crucial vote—for which Stintz needs 22 councillors on side—one councillor was apparently so [...]

Ontario Court of Appeal Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit Regarding St. Clair Transit Construction

Decision states that the matter of damages must go to the OMB, and no evidence was presented in support of alleged misconduct by the City.

In April 2011 the Ontario Superior Court dismissed a class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of local merchants on St. Clair, alleging that they had suffered personal and business damages due to construction of the St. Clair right of way. Unhappy with the decision, the merchants filed an appeal; in a decision released this afternoon, [...]

Rebellion at City Hall: Everything You Need to Know About City Council’s Special Transit Meeting

In which we explain just what a "special meeting" is, and how this one came to be.

On Monday morning, Toronto—and especially Torontonians who have been following the saga of transit planning at City Hall—woke up to some dramatic news. Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) had filed a petition with the city clerk, requesting a special, unplanned meeting of city council. The purpose of the meeting: to circumvent Mayor Rob Ford and [...]

Transit Pros Support Eglinton Subway-Surface LRT Plan

More details on the letter that calls for a return to "sensible" transit planning in Toronto.

Under the umbrella of the Cities Centre at the University of Toronto, a large group of academics, professionals, and concerned citizens has announced its support for the at-grade alignment of the Eglinton LRT’s eastern branch (i.e. keeping it above ground on less congested portions of the route, as originally planned). The group includes: Eric Miller, [...]

Planners, Urban Designers, Academics Call for Restoring Sense to Transit Planning

Paul Bedford, Ken Greenberg, David Crombie among those asking councillors to return to planning a transit network rather than pursuing individual and often politicized projects.

In a letter released at a press conference at 11 a.m. today, a host of leading academics, urban planners, and one former mayor called on city councillors to take hold of the now very fractured transit planning process in Toronto and “restore transportation planning in this City to a sensible path.” We’ll have a report [...]

Duly Quoted: Doug Ford

“I believe we need some business folks involved in the TTC. As far as I am concerned the TTC needs a complete enema.” —The ever-colourful Doug Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) to the Globe and Mail, about his hope to change the composition of the TTC board soon, and add citizen representatives. Ford has been [...]

Ford Attempts Coup to Stall Debate on Transit City

TTC commissioners are now in open revolt against Chair Karen Stintz.

In a bizarre political move at the TTC meeting today, Ford loyalists voted to gut staff recommendations [PDF] on working with Metrolinx to finalize a framework for construction of the Eglinton project. The effect was that staff were not instructed to continue working with Metrolinx, and in theory detailed information about alternatives for the Eglinton [...]

Saying Goodbye to the H4 Subway Cars

The last of the H4 trains—comfy orange seats, but no air conditioning—took its final run this morning.

This morning, the last of the TTC’s oldest subway cars, a series known to transit folks and to the fans as “H4,” made their last trip. Riders on the Bloor-Danforth line will remember them as the only cars that still had padded seats, and the best hope for “air conditioning” were the ceiling fans that [...]