Matt Elliott: Build waterfront transit now – or pay later
Metro’s Matt Elliott raises a number of excellent points in his latest piece, Build waterfront transit now – or pay later:
- Right now, most of the land Waterfront Toronto is responsible for developing is barren and empty.
- As a result, construction workers can tear up streets without having to worry much about affecting sewage lines, gas and water – the complicated city infrastructure that can bog down similar projects. Building transit before developing the properties also means there won’t be many affected residents or businesses.
- Delaying waterfront rapid transit infrastructure will only result in expensive headaches down the track.
- Laying track on the eastern waterfront and into the port lands will never again be this cheap.
- Compared to the billions of dollars Queen’s Park is spending to build needed light rail lines in North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough, the infrastructure needed to kickstart transit on the waterfront is a bargain.
If we wait until after redevelopment happens to tackle transit, we’ll end up paying far more for the exact same result. Even worse, these delays could threaten the viability of redevelopment in the first place.
After all, what would be the appeal of a new waterfront address for businesses and residents without solid transit connections?
CodeBlueTO agrees: adequate, early funding to build transit needs to be a priority as we move forward on the Port Lands.
