Marco Sama is looking for an easier way to travel from U of T Scarborough to U of T’s downtown campus for his studies.
Needless to say, it’s a long and frustrating process. He finds himself having to travel back home to North York for his car instead of simply taking public transit.
“Getting here from North York and even from downtown is really poor. It’s about an hour and a half worth of transit on a good day,” says Sama, a PhD psychology student at U of T.
Sama’s concerns are a big part of the reason why the City of Toronto, TTC and Metrolinx held a public consultation about the East Eglinton LRT (EELRT) project at U of T Scarborough on July 25. Community members were invited to talk to city staff about their concerns over the need for an accessible and connected transit system in Scarborough.
Connectivity is important.
But that connectivity is something Sama is not confident he will see any time soon. “One concern that I have is that the city may not get it done in time,” he says.
With city council recently approving to extend the EELRT to Malvern, the approval of the U of T Scarborough stop is an important next step in the continuation of the project.
The EELRT is a planned eastern extension to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. With up to 25-stops the proposed light rail system would run from Kennedy Station along Eglinton Avenue, Kingston Road, and Morningside Avenue, ending at Malvern Town Centre. It will include stops at Ellesmere and a realigned Military Trail as well as the Toronto Pan Am Centre on campus.
In 2009, a 19-stop LRT from Kennedy to Sheppard and Morningside was approved, but it was cancelled by city council over funding concerns.
Final recommendations will be brought to council early 2019, alongside a proposed construction schedule.
“It’s important for us to speak to community members and people who are going to be impacted by the LRT. We want to ensure that people know what the plan is and have the opportunity to provide input into those plans,” says Mike Logan, program manager with the City of Toronto.
The city is particularly interested in feedback on potential stop locations North of the 401 and the public realm components of the project, such as how the public experiences areas around the stop locations.
Accessibility is also a concern
Twiab Khan, a Scarborough resident and supporter of public transit, wants to see an LRT in his neighborhood. His trek to downtown includes a car to get to the GO Train, and then by TTC once he is downtown.
He says that having an LRT extension to U of T Scarborough would be a positive addition to the community.
“From an environmental and economic point of view, it’s the best way to travel. Should an LRT come to U of T Scarborough, it would be much quicker to get downtown,” Khan says.
One of his main questions, besides the time it would take to complete the project, is that of accessibility. His wife has mobility challenges and ensuring that the EELRT is comfortable is a priority.
“It not easy for us to use GO Transit because there is a lot of walking. Accessibility is important,” Khan says. “Once you get it here and there is an intergraded system at Kennedy Station, it would be so much easier.”
These public consultations, as well as community surveys, is one way to ensure that the development of the EELRT is done in a way that best serves the community, Logan says.
“We want to research and work to identify how the LRT can best support quality of life,” he says. “This includes what jobs, development and community services would be best to be part of the regeneration of the corridor.”
For more information and to take a survey on the project, visit East Eglinton LRT.
