SmartTrack station north of King Street? No thanks, these Liberty Village residents say
Mayor John Tory's executive committee to discuss transit report at emergency meeting Tuesday
Residents in Liberty Village neighbourhood are disappointed in a report released at Toronto city hall Monday that, among other things, suggests the SmartTrack station earmarked for the area should be located north of King Street West.
Their local city councillor, Mike Layton, tweeted out a map of the neighbourhood Monday, highlighting where the proposed station would go. Layton said he's not sure the site near Sudbury and Dovercourt "will serve residents."
Emergency Exec meeting tomorrow with proposed Smart-track stn locations. Not sure the Liberty Village stn will serve residents. <a href="https://t.co/9jt6Z4s541">pic.twitter.com/9jt6Z4s541</a>
—@m_laytonThe city released the Transit Network Plan Update and Financial Strategy Monday. It proposes terms for sharing the $7- billion cost for several transit projects between the province and the city, with the provincial government pledging to provide $3.7 billion.
Toronto would be on the hook for $2 billion, which could mean at least a 2.1 per cent hike in property taxes. That plan would have to be approved by city council and Mayor John Tory has called an emergency meeting of his executive committee for Tuesday afternoon to discuss it.
But for Liberty Village residents, the proposed property tax hike is just one of the issues that worry them. They say the fast-growing downtown neighbourhood is badly under-served by public transit and the proposed location of the new SmartTrack station won't help.
'Makes no sense whatsover'
George and Lucia Anghelache, who live in the neighbourhood, say the proposed new site for the SmartTrack station won't work for the thousands of people who live east of Sudbury Street.
"I'm assuming most people here will probably go east rather than west, so that makes no sense whatsoever," George Anghelache said. "Walk backwards? I definitely wouldn't do it, and I don't see why most people would."
They noted there have been improvements on the streetcar routes since they moved into the neighbourhood, like more frequent buses and the new 514 streetcar line, which runs on King Street between Dufferin and Cherry Streets.
But they say there still isn't enough service and they try not to depend on the TTC to get them to work.
"The streetcars are always delayed, so we just found it easier to walk rather than wait in the cold for 20 minutes," George Anghelache said.