A Subway to Nowhere?

March 24, 2006 - The Province of Ontario announced yesterday that they will offer $670M to extend the Spadina subway north to Vaughan as part of a $1.2B program called Move Ontario, which is designed to help fund public transit, roads and bridges throughout the province. The subway extension marks the first time that the subway will cross the city limit to the 905 region, and it also marks the first subway expansion since the Sheppard subway opened in 2002.

The subway will help fight congestion in the 905 region and will also serve York University, which currently is one of the busiest transit hubs in the city. With the extension, passengers in the 905 can begin and end their commute at the new Vaughan Corporate Centre station, thereby relieving traffic at Finch Station (currently the northern most station on the subway).

Now as a planner, any subway expansion should be regarded as good news. The City definitely needs new transit infrastructure and expanding the Spadina subway to Vaughan represents a new Region-wide vision that is strongly needed in managing traffic gridlock in the GTA. Not to mention any government funding in public transit should call for celebration!

But at a deeper level, one have to wonder whether expanding the subway to a low-density suburb is the best way to spend nearly $2B (the total cost of project) of transit funding. Already, critics have argued that the under-utilized Spadina subway will not meet the passenger projections stated in the subway expansion proposals. Vaughan Corporate Centre is currently nothing but open space, big box stores (Vaughan Mills and IKEA), and low density communities - it would take over 30 years for Vaughan to develop into the minimum level required to successfully support public transit. Having learned from the mistakes made with the Sheppard subway (which till this day, continues to be only half-full even at rush hour), why weren't other options more seriously considered? For example, wouldn't a LRT line would cheaper, more efficient, and still achieve the goals of creating transit-friendly sustainable communities?

Not to mention, at a time when the TTC barely have enough money to maintain the service it provides, shouldn't the money be put back into the existing system first? How about more funds to improve subway efficiency, or more buses on the busiest routes, or perhaps, maybe tearing down the old and crumbling Scarborough LRT?

We all know that this subway expansion is more political than sensible. While there certainly are advantages to expanding the Spadina Subway to Vaughan, I don't know if it's the best way to spend precious transit funding, particularly when so many other initiatives require our attention now.