Doug Ford has had it with Eglinton Crosstown construction
The premier said he’s “the first to admit it’s been a nightmare”
If you’re among the thousands of daily riders who would benefit from a functional Eglinton Crosstown LRT—or if you’re just tuning in for entertainment at this point—Premier Doug Ford wants you to know he’s also getting impatient. “It’s driving me crazy,” he said yesterday, answering a journalist’s question about the long-delayed transit line. “Just get the damn thing moving.”
Well, yes, but how? That he didn’t say, though he did offer to ask Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay for an update.
There was a moment of optimism back in October, when the LRT began running a revenue service demonstration, signalling its final stages. That testing was paused after two trains reportedly collided.
Related: The Finch LRT just might beat the Eglinton Crosstown to the finish line
Ford said he’s “the first to admit it’s been a nightmare.” But, at a recent news conference, Lindsay said there’s “absolutely still a chance” the LRT will open before the year ends.
The project entered its 15th year of construction earlier this month, so Toronto comedian Jacob Balshin threw it a quinceañera complete with a mariachi band. How will we celebrate finally being able to get on board? (And will Premier Ford join our party or will he be riding in a turnip truck?)
You know what, a moving Eglinton Crosstown LRT and a TTC fare freeze is all we need.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
