Toronto transit plan still 'a work in progress'

Ontario remains committed to helping Toronto pay for upcoming transit improvements, Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli says,but warnsthat city councillors still have key decisions to make before those projects can get fully underway.

Chiarelli said Thursday that the provincial government and Metrolinx, the provincial agency that will build Toronto's new transit lines, need more information about what citycouncil wants to do with transit along Sheppard Avenue.

Adramatic voteat Torontos city hallWednesday nightsaw councillors replace Mayor Rob Fords plan for buried transit lines with a revised version of Transit City, the light-rail network that was approved by council during former mayor David Millers tenure.

But Chiarelli said that proposal includes having an advisory panel examine the options for Sheppard Avenue, which means the plan is not yet complete.

"I want to be clear that the plan endorsed yesterday by council is still very much a work in progress," Chiarelli said during a news conference at Queens Park.

"While council has in fact prioritized three LRT linesthe Scarborough LRT, the Finch West LRT, and the Eglinton Crosstown LRTthey have also deferred judgment on the Sheppard Avenue corridor."

Chiarelli said that meanswhenever the panel reports back to council, their conclusions will have to be rigorously reviewed by the province.

But the transportation minister said the money the province had promised for Toronto transit isnt going anywhere.

"The McGuinty government remains firm in its commitment to invest $8.4 billion in Torontos public transit," Chiarelli said.

"I am confident that the mayor will pause to reflect on what council decided yesterday as the province and Metrolinx will, so that we will be able to move forward together to build the transit solutions Toronto needs."

Ford not giving up on transit promise

After Wednesdays vote Ford firstdismissed the council voteas "irrelevant," saying theprior deal he struck with the provinceto keep the Eglinton line underground would stand.

However, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Thursday that he had made it very clear to Ford that "he was to see approval" of his transit plan with city council, when the province signed a memorandum of understanding with the mayor last year.

On Wednesday evening,Ford posteda message on Facebook, in which he reiterated his intent to push for underground transit in the east end.

"The residents of Scarborough, Toronto's fastest growing region, deserve underground rapid transitand I promised to deliver it to them," Ford said in the message posted just after 6 p.m.

"Todays vote does not change my promise."

Later that evening, Ford made a point of taking a ride on public transit.

Isaac Ransom, one of the mayor's staff members, posted photos of the mayor speaking to a man on a subway, and another of Ford standing on a TTC bus.

"It was great meeting & chatting with folks on the #TTC last night," Ford wrote in a post on Twitter on Thursday morning.

Fords push for subways still resonates with many voters.

Scarborough resident Jason Lyons told CBC News that he spends three hours a day riding public transit to commute downtownand he sides with the mayors vision forunderground transit.

"Its completely better to have a subway than an LRT or streetcars coming up here, its not worth taxpayers money," Lyons said Thursday.

"I pay a lot of money towards taxes, I would like to have a subway and I think Rob Ford was right about that."