Being a TTC commuter, it is tough for me to get to school and work on time. I have to wake even earlier than I normally would to make it on time with all the construction.
I commute to Humber via two TTC buses, which is tough. Rush hour traffic causes the buses to be busy and packed with students and workers traveling in the morning.
I always wake up earlier especially during the winter when the buses seem to take longer to arrive because of the colder weather. With a subway, it would not matter if the weather was hot or cold because of the lines being underground. The trains always come every five-to-seven minutes whereas the buses sometimes take 20 to 30 minutes to arrive.
If the Finch West LRT — linking the Finch West subway station to Humber College North campus — had been built sooner, the line would have reduced travel time for many students to get to campus. But it will only be complete after many of us have graduated from Humber.
On May 7. 2018, Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) announced the contract signing for the Mosaic Transit Group to finance, build, and design the Finch West LRT subway extension line. Many Ontarians were happy about the announcement but wondered how long it would take to build and launch.
Work is in progress at the Humber College stop where workers are working at the station portal. PHOTO CREDIT/COURTESY OF METROLINK
Ontarians, including myself, who rely on transit to commute to school and work in Toronto have been frustrated with Toronto’s fabled failed attempts of building new subway lines in the past.
Toronto has a long history of failed subway plans that various governments announce but seem to find ways of not getting them off the ground.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT subway line is another line under construction. It will help commuters to travel from the west of the city to Scarborough. The Eglinton line was supposed to have opened this past September, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a delay in building and opening.
The pandemic delayed many of the projects that were supposed to be completed. Workers continued building the Eglinton Crosstown during lockdowns, but it was still not completed.
Toronto is one of the biggest and busiest cities in Canada, and the world, and it needs as many accessible modes of transportations as possible to get around, not only throughout the city, but outside of Toronto.
Many Ontarians including drivers are taking transit to help get around the city. Being stuck in traffic because of construction from building subway lines makes it harder for those who rely on cars and the TTC to get to school or work.
Concrete pours are continuing for Humber College station’s base and preliminary construction for track where the light rail vehicle (LRV) will enter and exit. PHOTO CREDIT/COURTESY OF METROLINX
Construction seems to claim every corner you turn. This makes it difficult to commute in the city. Public transportation is important and convenient. Torontonians have asked for decades for more. Plans for expanded subway and LRT lines seem they were always on Toronto’s agenda, but have been largely abandoned, scraped or denied, such as David Miller’s Transit City dream.
If expanded rapid transit systems were built 10 years ago — 20 years ago, 30 years ago and maybe even 40 years ago — the city would not be this gridlocked.
Along with the Crosstown and Finch West, the Ontario Line is expected to link Exhibition Park with the Ontario Science Centre, cutting through the downtown core. All these subway extensions that are being built are great but should have been done sooner.