Disputes between politicians and land developers are not new, and we certainly don’t expect to see tears streaming down a Toronto subway station. But when three councillors at Toronto’s City Hall challenged the Metrolinx Transit Commission to stick to its original plans for building the Yonge subway in Thornhill, the transit commission brought out an impressive fight plan.
Metrolinx has said that it will need eight new stations in order to build the light-rail line that would run beneath the Don Valley Parkway (for more on the proposed route see below), but that the stretch from Agincourt to Finch would only have three stations.
In Thornhill, the Roncesvalles Avenue Station would remain close to the heart of the city — at least from an election standpoint — and two of the three stations would be located in Thornhill itself, well within the boundaries of the city. That would put the project in the pockets of the elected officials who have so far been the biggest winners from that recent citywide municipal election.
For their part, all three Thornhill City Council politicians who made the protest last night — Joe Harris, Terry Allen and Cheryl Reichhold — won their seats easily, defeating incumbents of both parties. So that’s one heated debate gone. But will the transit commission do as it’s been asked? Read on to find out …