Mayoral candidate David Soknacki says he’ll reverse the city’s course on the Scarborough subway, again
Well, that didn’t take long. Two weeks in, the 2014 mayoral election has already produced its first sweeping policy announcement, and it’s this: former city budget chief David Soknacki says that, if elected, he’ll scrap Rob Ford‘s beloved two-or-three-stop Scarborough subway extension in favour of the seven-stop light-rail line that was originally planned for the corridor.
In an audaciously misleading rhetorical flourish worthy of Ford himself, Soknacki’s press release claims that the move would “cancel Mayor Rob Ford’s $1 billion property tax increase needed to pay for the subway option, delivering the largest tax cut in Toronto’s history.”
It’s true that the city’s expected share of the subway extension’s construction costs amounts to about $1 billion, but so far city council hasn’t put up the majority of that money. All that’s on the table right now are modest tax hikes over the next three years. So, there would be no billion-dollar tax cut, only an avoidance of possible future tax increases. Elections aren’t won with facts and accuracy, though, and the claim is at least partially true, so we’ll give Soknacki a pass this time.
Assuming Soknacki were to be elected, and assuming he was able to scuttle the Scarborough subway, it would be only the latest in a long series of politically driven reversals for the transit corridor, currently served by the rattletrap Scarborough RT. The fate of the line was most recently debated in October, when city council reaffirmed an earlier decision to abandon the Scarborough light-rail line—which it had previously endorsed—in favour of the subway. Rob Ford, who championed the subway extension against the advice of transit planners, claimed victory—but there’s no such thing as a done deal when it comes to transit planning in Toronto. Soknacki says returning to light-rail would mark “a return to evidence-based transit decision-making in Toronto,” and that much, at any rate, is true.
We expect plenty more transit proposals over the next few months. Election day is still almost 10 months away.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/mayoral-candidate-david-soknacki-says-hell-cancel-scarborough-subway/&title=Mayoral candidate David Soknacki says he’ll reverse the city’s course on the Scarborough subway, again&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/david-soknacki-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_253556" align="alignnone" width="656"] (Image: Soknacki.com)[/caption]
Well, that didn't take long. Two weeks in, the 2014 mayoral election has already produced its first sweeping policy announcement, and it's this: former city budget chief David Soknacki says that, if elected, he'll scrap Rob Ford's beloved two-or-three-stop Scarborough subway extension in favour of the seven-stop light-rail line that was originally planned for the corridor.
In an audaciously misleading rhetorical flourish worthy of Ford himself, Soknacki's press release claims that the move would "cancel Mayor Rob Ford’s $1 billion property tax increase needed to pay for the subway option, delivering the largest tax cut in Toronto’s history."
It's true that the city's expected share of the subway extension's construction costs amounts to about $1 billion, but so far city council hasn't put up the majority of that money. All that's on the table right now are modest tax hikes over the next three years. So, there would be no billion-dollar tax cut, only an avoidance of possible future tax increases. Elections aren't won with facts and accuracy, though, and the claim is at least partially true, so we'll give Soknacki a pass this time.
Assuming Soknacki were to be elected, and assuming he was able to scuttle the Scarborough subway, it would be only the latest in a long series of politically driven reversals for the transit corridor, currently served by the rattletrap Scarborough RT. The fate of the line was most recently debated in October, when city council reaffirmed an earlier decision to abandon the Scarborough light-rail line—which it had previously endorsed—in favour of the subway. Rob Ford, who championed the subway extension against the advice of transit planners, claimed victory—but there's no such thing as a done deal when it comes to transit planning in Toronto. Soknacki says returning to light-rail would mark "a return to evidence-based transit decision-making in Toronto," and that much, at any rate, is true.
We expect plenty more transit proposals over the next few months. Election day is still almost 10 months away.){kind=link}
Finally, a mayoral politician with the guts to affirm, loud and clear, the advantages of an LRT over a subway for Scarborough! By using evidence-based transit planning instead of lies and emotion-based slogans, Soknacki’s already impressing me.
it only makes sense. if people would stop equating LR with a streetcar, they might actually get a system that works for the people they say they want to service.
Good for Soknacki having the guts to rip the bandage off this wound. Lodgic will prevail over rhetoric everyday. Rob sold everybody a bill of goods. You repeat a lie long enought and enough times it starts to have an aura of truth. That is Rob’s style. He is in it for the win period.
Remember it was Rob who “said” people in Scargborough needed a subway. He “said” they deserved not to be treated as second class citizens. He “said” they wanted a subway. He “said” they were calling and calling him everyday with support. (or was it his friend friend Dave from Scarfborough).
I guess Soknacki from Scarborough has a different perspective. Whom do you believe?
Oh? And then when the Pickering Airport gets built, they’re going to extend the LRT to it from McCowan? The LRT is another example of short-sighted planning.
Just what we need! A spineless mayor who will reverse course due to his own personal agenda. When will a subway be built? If this moron gets in, 2058. Joke.
The pickering airport?? when is that planned to be built and WHY? And more importanly, Pickering is NOT Toronto, so who cares what they do- they can build and support their own subway and not waste Toronto taxpayer dollars. Who pays for this waste of transportation? Toronto Home Owners who will probably never use those stops. ever. So your the short sided one. Look at the bigger picture. LRT is the best option, but more importantly a downtown relief line should be built. Come 5 pm theres no room on Bloor- Yonge Platforms and it pretty much a safety hazzard. At 5 pm. how many people do they expect to use these 2 planned stops?
Ignorant ill informed people irk me. Do your homework. Not part of “his personal agenda” it makes the most economical sense. period.