Sounds like the feds got their priorities straight, on Toronto subways. And it ain't April's Fools.
Plink, plink. (cue sound of a few pennies)
Ka-ching, ka-ching. (cue the smell of fresh stack of bills)
Whatever the case, it's safe to say that the Relief Line will get federal funding when it gets to that point in planning. They wouldn't have given nearly $30M if they weren't serious about it going ahead.
I can see Trudeau being in power at least 2 or 3 terms. Wynne, I'm not so confident. In the worst case scenario, Toronto could deal directly with the Feds if necessary. We're finally getting a downtown subway.
Crosstown West is safe. East is a bit shaky, but I see no reason not to building as that is too long for a bus to operate.Only the Crosstown is safe. Not sure about crosstown east or west though
Remember that even DRL was the key piece of the Conservatives election platform in 2014 - Hudak wanted to cancel the LRTs (sheppard and finch), build the scarborough subway, and then drop a huge chunk of capital to build the downtown U part of the DRL.Whatever the case, it's safe to say that the Relief Line will get federal funding when it gets to that point in planning. They wouldn't have given nearly $30M if they weren't serious about it going ahead.
I can see Trudeau being in power at least 2 or 3 terms. Wynne, I'm not so confident. In the worst case scenario, Toronto could deal directly with the Feds if necessary. We're finally getting a downtown subway.
Remember that even DRL was the key piece of the Conservatives election platform in 2014 - Hudak wanted to cancel the LRTs (sheppard and finch), build the scarborough subway, and then drop a huge chunk of capital to build the downtown U part of the DRL.
Personally I see the DRL as a relatively sure thing. It has popular support from around the table and is needed to get other election friendly goodies such as the yonge north extension.
I used to think the provincial Liberals were the only adults in the room on transit, but I'm not so sure anymore. They gave us the deeply flawed UPX, a Spadina subway extension that literally passes under fields (thanks, Sorbara and your Vaughan developer pals), and the cave-in to Ford Nation on the idiotic Scarborough subway extension. Though I agree the provincial Conservatives exist in fundamental hostility to the interests of 416 and the provincial NDP are just out to lunch on any substantive issues.
I think all proposed projects would continue their course but anything new past the current wave of projects will be iced. Historically, Conservatives were never anti-infrastructure, just in our recent history. I would see the PC butcher social programs way before cancelling projects