Mayoral candidates for this fall’s municipal election appear eager to make changes at the Toronto Transit Commission.

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The state of the TTC is under scrutiny yet again, this time due to a private member’s bill, submitted Jan. 22 by Liberal MPP David Caplan.

The bill would make the TTC an essential service and make future strikes illegal, preventing TTC workers from walking off their job as they did in 2008.

City council debated this issue two years ago. In October 2008, councillors decided by a vote of 23–22 not to ask the province to change the TTC’s status.

Critics of the new proposal say the city already has essential services that are unable to strike, such as police and fire services, and any contract disagreements are sent to negotiation. This process results in more salary hikes than if the contracts had been negotiated freely between the two parties, said Bas Balkissoon, MPP for the Scarborough- Rouge River.

“It’s not convenient. We must make mass transit a priority for Scarborough to discourage people from getting in their cars,” Balkissoon said.

Improvement of the current transit system should happen before making any more changes, Balkissoon said.

Wayne Arthurs, MPP for the Pickering-Scarborough East, is against the TTC becoming an essential service.

“Public transit is certainly a matter of convenience and it has an economic impact, but it doesn’t involve people’s safety,” Arthurs said.

Arthurs said we need to consider the long term costs.

“Some people are promising everything for free,” said Ward 38 councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, a former TTC commissioner.

“I don’t support it and I think it’s very ironic that some people say ‘I want to save you money’ with one breath, and then say ‘I want to make the TTC an essential service which will cost you more money’ with the second breath,” De Baeremaeker said. “And that means the third breath is ‘I’m going to raise your taxes more.’”

The proposal will benefit people who use the TTC to get around quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively, De Baeremaeker said.

“People who live in condos out by the Sky Dome can walk to work if they have to during a strike,” De Baeremaeker said. “But if you live up in Malvern, Jane and Finch, or North Etobicoke, for example, you can’t walk to work. It would take you two days.”

Recent thefts on the TTC should make passengers wary when using electronics. That warning comes from the director of communications for the TTC, Brad Ross. A pregnant woman was robbed of her BlackBerry while riding the train past Wilson station last week. Ross advises TTC passengers to be aware of their surroundings, and keep all personal devices out of sight. Julie Tu reports.

Construction has begun on the Sheppard Light Rail Transit line, but a local group is trying to halt the project by bringing attention to “Transit City deceptions.”

The controversial project will connect Sheppard Avenue East to the Don Mills subway station.

The members of Save Our Sheppard (SOS) oppose the line, as they’re advocating for viable transit in Toronto, said Patricia Sinclair, organizer of the group and 30-year area resident.

The city’s anticipating economic growth in the neighbourhood, but critics claim it’s a wasteful expense.

“We recognize the very great need in Toronto for better public transit and we acknowledge large sums of money need to be spent,” Sinclair said. “Light rail, alias streetcars in designated rights-of-ways, does not offer a solution to our woes, but creates more problems.”

Although the group wants a subway instead, city councillors say it’s not affordable.

The 14-km Sheppard East line will cost the same as the 6.2-km Sheppard subway, according to toronto.ca.

“When we only have so much money, why not use that for a continuation of the underground subway from Don Mills to Kennedy?” SOS Reg Rego said.

The city’s building “a spider web” of a mess, as LRT vehicles operate in a dedicated right-of-way, he said.

A subway would be more reasonable, even in terms of “immediate capital costs,” as the underground tunnel for a streetcar would have to be at least 45 cm higher than for a subway to accommodate electric power lines, Rego said.

Another concern is the lack of access for vehicles from one side of the street to residences and businesses on the other side, creating a “dividing Sheppard wall,” he said.

If an incident disables a streetcar, emergency services would be delayed, resulting in “a total crippling of transit,” Rego said.

“This city has fallen behind in a major way, which leaves us economically at a distinct disadvantage when you compare us to other cities, not only in North America, but in Europe,” Sinclair said. “Even Asia and India are doing better than we in building new transit lines.”

Ward 38 councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker said although the $1-billion project will cause unavoidable disruption, the city is working with local residents and business owners to minimize inconvenience during construction.

“The Sheppard East Village Business Improvement Area welcomes the LRT,” De Baeremaker said. “The owners have told the city just to make sure not to disrupt their businesses, like if we’re paving the road, not to be in their way for four weeks.”

He said benefits of the LRT include lower costs and diesel fume emissions while providing a clean, comfortable and fast way to travel.

There’ll also be new bike lanes running along the tracks, De Baeremaker said.

The line will enter a tunnel west of Consumers Road, travel under Highway 404 and connect to the subway level at Don Mills Station, according to toronto.ca.

Although Ward 39 councillor Mike Del Grande said construction started in late 2009 in the underpass of the Agincourt GO Station and is to be completed by 2013, Sinclair said there hasn’t been much progress.

While part of the parking lot at the station has been closed for construction, it’s now just a “dirt field” from where the cement has been taken out, she said.

Citizens need to be aware of the facts of the issue, as studies have been done, including one on the failure of the LRT in Portland, Oregon called “Debunking Portland: The City That Doesn’t Work,” Sinclair said.

“Billions of taxpayers’ dollars will be wasted if we can’t stop this,” she said. “But more importantly, the negative impact these lines bring will be detrimental to the neighbourhoods they are being planned for.

“The documentation exists, but it seems neither our politicians nor transit planners are bothered to read them. We want to change that before it’s too late.”

Public consultations for the LRT project are set for March 8 at Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School and March 11 at the Chinese Cultural Centre.

The chair of a new TTC advisory panel says that responsibility for better customer service rests with both TTC managers and workers.

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Small business owners mixed with various other protesters Monday to demonstrate against Toronto city councillor Adam Giambrone’s run for mayor.

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A 23-year-old man was found not guilty of attempted murder in the October 2005 shooting of  a TTC bus driver.

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Public transit riders may be asked to dig deeper in their pockets if a proposed fare hike is approved by a city committee on November 17, 2009. Continue Reading

Byron MacDonald’s eight-year wait has paid off.

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When the winning candidate for the 2015 Pan-American Games is announced Friday afternoon, there will be more at stake for Toronto then just sports glory.

Improvements to the city’s infrastructure also hang in the balance.

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