City politicians will be asked to approve as much as $1.65-million more to study Mayor John Tory’s signature transit proposal, with more analysis promised on a contentious section of the route and a financing strategy expected by the fall.
Mr. Tory campaigned on a pledge to piggyback onto provincial plans to expand GO rail service, adding a number of stations and a spur in the west end, and packaging the whole thing under the slogan SmartTrack. A report early Friday evening from Toronto’s top bureaucrat presented a roadmap for pushing the project forward.
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Mr. Pennachetti’s report also asks council to approve up to $1.65-million in funding for studies on Mr. Tory’s plan, on top of $750,000 already approved. The new stretch of track in the west end is mentioned specifically as requiring additional analysis.
This portion, along Eglinton, has long been one of the most controversial parts of the project. Mr. Tory initially said that no tunnelling would be required but later acknowledged that the train would have to go underground at least part of the way. He would not say how much digging he believed would be necessary and during the campaign brushed aside a Globe and Mail analysis that concluded the tunnel distance would be at least 8.5 kilometres.