Mayor Tory on the importance of updating Toronto's transit at City Council on May 24th. "We took decades off building transit... and now we're having to make up for lost time," says Tory. Read more on the council vote on the relief line at the Toronto Star: [ Ссылка ]. Or read and excerpt of Ben Spurr's article below:

Council pushes ahead with relief line, but project still unfunded
Ahead of council vote on relief line subway, mayor handed out flyers urging commuters to ask Wynne Liberals to pay for the project.

City council has voted to move ahead with planning work for the relief line subway, although it remains unclear who will pay to build the vital but as-yet-unfunded transit project.

In a vote of 42 to 1, councillors endorsed a city report that gave the green light for city and TTC staff to advance the design of the first phase of the relief line, which the TTC has identified as Toronto’s most pressing transit priority.

In a council speech, Mayor John Tory called the vote “a big step forward” for the city’s transit plans. However, he reiterated calls for the province to help pay for the subway, which is currently estimated to cost $6.8 billion and has no firm funding commitment from any level of government.

Tory acknowledged Queen’s Park has invested in Toronto transit in the past but urged them not to turn off the tap now.

“As much as we may be grateful, we’ve moved on. And we’re looking to secure funding for that next wave of transit projects that’s going to help us keep this city livable, build this city, accommodate the people that are coming here let alone the people who are already here, and that is led by the relief line,” he said.

Earlier in the day Tory took his case directly to transit riders by handing out flyers at Pape station that urged commuters to contact their local MPPs and Transportation Minster Steven Del Duca “to let them know that funding for the relief line is a priority.”

For more on this and other stories visit thestar.com.

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