Scarborough residents say a new TTC bus garage may literally destroy their neighbourhood

Hyperbole is often a weapon of choice in disputes over neighbourhood development, and a group known the Coalition Against McNicoll Bus Garage may just have out-hyperbolized them all. The Star reports that the coalition, which formed to oppose the construction of a new TTC bus garage near McNicoll and Kennedy roads in Scarborough, is worried that the facility’s biodiesel tanks will cause a conflagration.

According to the Star, the group’s presentation, during a press conference on Monday, included slides with images of famous fuel-related disasters, like the Lac Megantic explosion—which, notably, was triggered by an improperly secured freight train, not a stationary holding tank in a garage. Neighbourhood concerns also include pollution and traffic congestion, and it’s all exacerbated by the fact that the TTC’s now-vacant plot of land is near a church and a long-term care home.

“Only in Toronto would a transit agency be allowed to put a bus garage on prime real estate to the detriment of vulnerable seniors while exposing the environment and neighbourhood to unconscionable risk,” said resident Patricia Sinclair, who told CBC that she is “pro-transit.” To review: riding buses is good, but building a place to store and service them is basically like beating up an elderly person. For what it’s worth, the TTC is saying noise and air pollution should be minimal.