Scarborough saga: transit promised, yet never delivered

Thursday's announcement by Toronto Mayor John Tory that the city intends to change the plans for the Scarborough subwayis only the latest shift in the transit visionfor a part of the city that hasseen no new rapid transit for30 years.

• John Tory pitches'better' Scarboroughtransit plan with express route
• Revamped Scarborough subway plan would eliminate 2 of 3 stations

Since theScarboroughRT was opened in 1985, planners and politicians have talked and talked, and talked some more about extending subway lines, or providing light-rapid transit (LRT) lines, or both.

The saga of rapid transit for Scarboroughisan epic tale of shifting priorities andrevolving-door plans, overlapping with stop-and-go funding and changes in political leadership. And to this day, none of it has been built.

This is how the latest Scarborough transit plans compare:

The John Tory Hybrid Plan

• Extendthe Bloor-Danforthsubway from Kennedy to Scarborough Town Centre, with no stops along the way.
• Extend the (currentlyunder construction)Eglinton CrosstownLRT to Kingston Roadand north toMalvern
• Build new LRT along Sheppard toScarboroughTown Centre
• Cost: $4.5 billion
• Funding:For the Scarborough subway, the province has promised $1.5 billion, the previous federal government had set aside$660 million. City council plans ro raise $1 billion through the Scarborough transit levy and development charges. Tory says the savings on subway costs by reducing stations will be enough to fund extending the EglintonCrosstownLRT.For the Sheppard LRT, there's $1 billion promised (fully funded, two-thirds from the province, one-third from Ottawa)

John Tory called the transit plank of his mayoral campaign "SmartTrack". Shortly after winning the election, the federal Liberals insisted they're willing to fund it, and the provincial Liberals say the money they've previously committed is still there. Tory hinted in December he would tweak the transit plan, then on Thursday revealed changes to the Scarborough subway and LRT plans

The Rob Ford 'Subways-Subways-Subways' Plan

• Extend the Bloor-Danforth subway to Scarborough Town Centre, with stops at Lawrence & Sheppard
• Extend the Sheppard subway "stubway" from Don Mills to Scarborough Town Centre
• Cost: $3.5 billion for subway to replace Scarborough RT, $3.25 billion for subway extension on Sheppard (although Ford claimed it would be $1.8 billion during his 2014 mayoral campaign)
• Funding: In the summer of 2013, theKathleen Wynne government promised the $1.4 billion earmarked for theScarborough LRT could go to fund a subway instead. Shortly afterward, the Stephen Harper government promised $660 million. Neither government promised to fund the Sheppard subway extension, only LRT.

Rob Ford campaigned on bringing subways toScarborough, but his promises quickly slammed up against funding realities. The McGuinty government was only willing to fund LRT to replace the Scarborough RT, and totallydeclined to fund Ford'sSheppard subway extension. The Harper government was also reluctant to cough up money for such a subway. And city council revolted against the Sheppardline, voting instead for LRT.

In 2013, Ford's plan for extending the Bloor-Danforth subway to Scarborough Town Centre narrowly won council's approval, boosted in part by the provincial Liberals suddenly declaring their wish to fund the subwaywith a byelection onthe line.

The David Miller 'Transit City'Plan

• Build new Shepppard LRTto Meadowvale Rd
• Replace Scarborough RT withnew LRT to Scarborough Town Centre and extend it to Malvern
• Cost: $2.2billion
• Funding:Dalton McGuinty's government promised $1.4 billion in April 2009 to fully fund the LRT to replace the Scarborough RT. The next month, the federal and provincial governments promised $950M to fully fund the Sheppard LRT.

David Miller's vision was dubbed "Transit City" with LRT lines in underserved areas across Toronto, including Scarborough. Announced in 2007, after Miller won his second term in office, it never reallygot off the ground. Some construction began on theSheppardLRTin 2009, but months laterthe Liberal government of Dalton McGuintydelayed funding for parts ofTransit City, making Miller furious. AndMiller's successor, Rob Ford announced "Transit City is over" on his first day in office in 2010.