Toronto transit plan panned

Critics are calling Toronto mayoral candidate George Smitherman's multibillion-dollar transit plan ill-conceived and short on details.

A transit advocate says Smitherman hasn't revealed where he will find the money to pay for his plan, while another candidate for mayor says what is being proposed is "ludicrous."

Smitherman, the former Ontario minister of energy and infrastructure, unveiled his plan to 1,300 supporters Friday, saying: "It doesn't have a catchy title like 'Transit City.' Instead it has a theme and that theme is delivering results.

"Transit Delivered  —  that's my commitment."

Smitherman said the first phase of the $17-billion transit plan includes extending the Spadina subway to York University and extending the Sheppard LRT east and south to the new aquatic centre planned for the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.

Phase 1 is an adaptation of Mayor David Miller's currently underway Transit City plan, which is scheduled to be completed before the Pan Am Games in 2015.

The second phase of Smitherman's plan, to be completed by 2020, would expand the Sheppard subway line to link up with Downsview Station, replace the Scarborough RT with a subway and extend the Bloor-Danforth subway line west to Sherway Gardens.

Smitherman said his plan would also allow seniors to ride the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) for free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays.

Though he didn't offer many details, Smitherman said he's considering building curbs to separate bike lanes from vehicle traffic.

Of the total cost of his Transit Delivered plan, Smitherman said $10 billion has already been committed by the federal and provincial governments.

Smitherman said the city would rely on the private sector to finance the remaining $7 billion as well as design and build the transit infrastructure.

The city would pay off the private sector loan by creating a transit trust fund that would collect gas tax, parking money and earnings from transit-enabled development, said Smitherman.

But transit advocate Steve Munro said that money's already used to operate the TTC.

"He doesn't want to tell us how he's going to pay for anything," said Munro.  "In fact he's using revenue that's already being used to operate the TTC to pay for his future transit trust. You got to get the money from some place. He completely skates around that by saying, 'I'm going to make these revenue sources magically pay for the mortgages on the subways.'"

Smitherman said he plans to reduce the city's vehicle registration tax and will not implement new taxes to pay for his transit plan

But rival mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi said without the use of new tax dollars his plan doesn't make sense. 

"He's said no new taxes. In fact he's saying he's going to reduce or eliminate the vehicle registration tax. It's free money everywhere, it's ludicrous."

Mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone said Smitherman's plan is big on dreams but short on details.

"To be sure my plan is ambitious, but it is also affordable and it is achievable," said Smitherman.