As Scarborough subway price rises, Mayor John Tory looks for cost-saving measures

A TTC board member is warning the Scarborough subway costs could skyrocket out of control, but Mayor John Tory saysthere is a plan to save money on the project.

Tory is urging city councillors to approve the alignment of the proposed one-stop subway extension which now has a price tag of about $3.35 billion once a new bus terminal is factored in so design and construction work can begin as soon as possible.

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On Wednesday, Tory said any delay will only result in the city paying more for the mega-project and vowed to keep a close eye on the money being spent on the subway.

"I can assure you I'll be looking at every dime that is spent and trying to make sure we save as many of those dimes and dollars as we can,"Tory told reporters outside Nelson MandelaPark Public School, where he was marking the second anniversary of kids riding for the TTC for free.

Earlier, Coun. Joe Mihevc told CBC Radio's Metro Morning he's worried the city has written a blank cheque for the 6.5-kilometre subway extension, and that he expects the cost to blow past the current price tag and go as high as $5 billion.

"It is still going way, way beyond expectations," he said.

Mihevc, who supported an earlier version of the subway that had three stops, said he expects city council to reluctantly OK the new recommendations for the subway, including using the McCowan alignment.

"We have to find a way to make peace with it at some point," he said.

"And that's perhaps the tragedy of our time."

Mihevc said he shares concerns voiced by some Scarborough transit activists that the subway's costs could mean that the Eglinton East LRT plan, featuring 18 stops, won't be built. At one point, council had approved spending $3.5 billion on both projects.

Tory has said he's hoping for more federal funding for the future LRT line, and Mihevc said he expects the mayor to face hard questions about that at future council meetings.

Engineering report outlines potential savings

In an effort to find savings on the Scarborough subway project, the TTC requested a value engineering study conducted by a range of experts and engineers, as well as some of its staff.

That team came up with 181 ideas to save money on the project, 64 of which were recommended to the TTC.

"We'll be pursuing every one of those recommendations to find ways, which I am confident we can do, to save substantial sums of money," Tory said.

The suggestions, outlined in a report that will be discussed by the mayor's executive committee next week, are mainly technical in nature, including measures like reducing the "track system concrete thickness," which the report says would save $14 million.

None of the recommendations have been approved at this time.