In recent months, Mr. Tory has suggested he would take seriously the advice of experts, telling journalists that otherwise, there would have been no reason to commission the reports. He has also seemed to back away from the need to have heavy rail in the west end, suggesting he would be content as long as the area was served by transit.
[...]
Although Mr. Tory regularly presents his transit plan as a sure thing – variations on “SmartTrack is going to get built” are a constant refrain, and he has secured funding promises from other levels of government – the final version would have to be approved by city council. The debate is likely to begin in earnest this spring as part of a broader discussion about city transit that will include new ridership projections for the downtown relief line and the Scarborough subway extension.