Technical Panel Questions (posed by moderator Steve Paikin)

1. Montreal has gone from concept to design to construction for their Reseau Electrique Metropolitaine in approximately four years. In Toronto, that could take 40 years. Can’t we do better? 
2. Is it realistic for the province to make all the plans and ask Ottawa and the city to pay for it? Will the other levels of government accept the plans and fund them?
3. The existential threat of climate chaos requires dramatic and very rapid changes to transportation. Should we therefore be putting new public transit on the surface with full priority over low occupancy vehicles?
4. We have been proactive before, such as building a rail deck on the Bloor Viaduct. But now, we add connecting infrastructure such as along Eglinton, after the fact, at great expense. Can we do better, making space for future work, and save money even when we sometimes guess wrong?
5. Why has no one mentioned the People Mover in Detroit as an example of driverless technology from Ontario being used? It is not used, only goes one way, and seems to have been a White Elephant.
6. Often, subways are dismissed as too costly, compared to LRT and commuter rail. Is there not a case to be made for subways doing what only they can do: violate the geometry of the surface streets and railways?
7. David Crowley: It may not be fair to compare Richmond Hill trips to PD1 (75% transit) versus to North York Centre (10% transit). There is no rapid transit route! Won’t subways help?
8. Don’t plans to extend the Yonge Line 1 and the Bloor-Danforth Line 2 in Scarborough mean: (1) overload of the current lines and (2) encourage more 905 users who don’t pay the 30% paid by Toronto taxpayers?
9. Eglinton Crosstown’s going to be open soon – before the Relief Line. What will it do to Yonge Line crowding? Can it work well enough without the Relief Line?
10. The subway extension to Vaughan shows the danger of this “we’ve talked about this long enough” attitude. Can transit investments be de-politicized to end this game?
11. The Metrolinx Regional Transit Plan is projected to only increase overall transit modal split by 1%. Can more subways improve that significantly? Or more 2-way GO Rail service?

Technical Panel Questions (submitted but not asked due to time constraints) 

1. How can the TTC fit with the Official Plan objectives (Serve People, Strengthen Places, Support Prosperity) if the province takes over the TTC?
2. Does anyone keep track of the major destination points in demand? E.g. I have not seen any plans for hooking up Pearson Airport with Hamilton and Waterloo International Airports in a rapid seamless dedicated line.
3. Toronto had a subway system that is considered the main line using ISO Standardized Plan for mainline east to Oshawa and west to Mississauga City Centre. What does the panel think of the ISO standardization AND use feeder lines running off the main line.
4. Why not build transit based on major destination points? For example, Crosstown goes from Kennedy to Black Creek not major destination points. Why?
5. Scarborough Subway Extension: Since we want to analyze all alternatives before a decision is made, why was the option of a GO Line branching off the Stouffville GO Line which would use the existing RT right of way into Scarborough Town Centre and on to Centennial College and up to Malvern, for less than 50% of the cost and built in 2 years less time?
6. Isn’t the planned Downtown Relief Line better from a transit economics point of view better than the Ontario Line?
7. Can the original Relief Line (the important part!) be built without its proposed extensions (to Eglinton and Ontario Place)?
8. How can we work to improve accessibility when talking about transit? It is an after thought and often not worked into this conversation. The city is becoming extremely inaccessible and transit could bridge the gap.
9. Are travel time comparisons inherently biased in favour of convenience (i.e. cars)?
10. Vancouver is scrapping their oldest Skytrain vehicles (the same as Toronto’s Scarborough RT trains). Meanwhile we change our views about Scarborough again and again. Should we just buy Vancouver’s old vehicles and use them to replace the RT trains)?
11. Is the Scarborough Subway Extension a prime example of confirmation bias? How do we blow this up? (asking for a friend named Josh)

1. When the opportunity for congestion charging (DVP/Gardiner) was on the table (in 2016-2017), the NDP and Liberals were against it. Do you regret that now?
2. This question touches on land use planning which was discussed during the technical panel in relation to development around rapid transit stations. How much should the province push for transit-oriented development (including developments that are part of new transit stations) and higher density along existing and new transit line to maximize the use and value of transit infrastructure and services? The current provincial government seems to be striving for this through changes to the Planning Act (impact on OMB, etc.) announced earlier this year.
3. There is controversy about the province taking the subway from the TTC as it splits up the system. What are your thoughts on the province uploading the entire TTC? What about all local transit agencies in GTHA to Metrolinx? Have other regions done this successfully?
4. Everyone has stressed the need for better cooperation between the province and the municipalities. Would you consider changing the governance of Metrolinx to include local politicians on their board?

1. Mayor Tory proposed road tolls on the Gardiner to raise funds for transit. But Premier Wynne killed it. Would you allow a City to put in tolls?
2. Although you all oppose Bill 107 subway uploading, it is clear that the status quo won’t work ($33 B capital needs just for present system)! What do you suggest to get more transit funding?
3. We talk a lot about how these big billion $ projects don’t come to fruition. What is your political perspective on doing what Greg Sorbara did in Vaughan by putting money into essentially a trust fund to ensure that the subway gets built?
4. The provincial election is roughly 3 years away. How can we make the best of the remainder of this anti-transit regime?
5. Is the lack of demand-related questions in the city’s “61 questions” to the province evidence that they don’t care about this issue, or do politicians just assume that all subways attract enough riders?
6. Are public transit decisions being made in support of public or private interests?
7. With the smart analysis of the great value of the King Street clearway compared to foolish waste of billions in the Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE), does the NDP now object to the SSE?
8. Can we admit that transit decisions are primarily driven by political/private interests and NOT made to best serve “the People”? Perhaps then, legitimate, public-interest transit can be achieved.