[This was sent by Councillor Moeser to the Mayor and City Council colleagues today.]

Mayor Rob Ford and Members of Council
City of Toronto
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON
M5H 2N2

Dear Colleagues

Due to complications from previous surgery, further surgery was needed on my left foot.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the special council meeting being held on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, on the future transit options for Sheppard Avenue.

I have agonized over the choices, and have made my decision based on the following reasons:

1/ The LRT will serve the greatest number of residents along the Sheppard Corridor to the eastern boundary of Scarborough.
2/ The monies are currently in place to complete the project to Morningside with the possibility in the future of extending the LRT to the Zoo as monies become available.
3/ Presently, there is no dedicated funding for a subway, and the timetable to complete a subway to Scarborough Town Centre has not been established.
4/ The work on Sheppard Avenue has been started, and has been discontinued based on the Mayor’s decision to abandon Transit City.
5/ Council has presently made a decision to continue with the Finch Avenue West LRT, and to bring a portion of the Eglinton Avenue LRT above ground.
6/ This will limit the options for the money that is available from the Province, and the Federal Governments. The Province has already indicated that they want Council to make a decision and I am concerned that we will loose the money from both the Federal and Provincial Governments if we do not proceed in a timely manner.
7/  I have requested on a number of occasions the cost of cancelling the LRT project on Sheppard Avenue. Projects such as the railway underpass have been started and I would like to know what the penalty would be if the  Sheppard LRT is not continued ( $80 Million dollars has been suggested at different times). Metro Linx has indicated that they will not pick up this cost.
8/ The LRT will still have two lanes of Traffic on either side and will not cause traffic congestion.
9/ It has been suggested that the LRT is the same as a streetcar, which is completely incorrect.

I have received the following answers to questions that I had from the TTC:

1.  What are the costs expended to date on all aspects of design and related costs for the Sheppard LRT? I need a breakdown of these expenditures. How much has the one year delay on the Sheppard LRT cost us?

The Sheppard East LRT expenditures to Dec. 31 2011 are $56.7 million.

-        $26.1 M related to the initial LRT work that was cancelled in 2011

-        $30.5 M related to the construction of the Agincourt Grade separation which  is continuing

The costs associated with the one year delay are:

-          Escalation to the future time period -approximately 4% or $40 M based on the $1 B project budget.

-          Re-starting the project and the cost of re-assembling the project team which has not been quantified

 

2.  What are the penalties for cancelling the LRT Project on Sheppard ($80M has been suggested)?

The MOU between the Mayor of Toronto, the Province and Metrolinx includes a provision that the Toronto is responsible for reimbursing Metrolinx for costs related from the changes and cancellation of the transit projects resulting from the MOU.   Estimates are between $65- 70 M. but have not been confirmed or invoiced by Metrolinx and may increase by an undetermined penalty for the vehicles if the project is cancelled or changed to subway.

 

1.  Will Sheppard be a priority project if we approve the LRT on Sheppard?

TTC considers Sheppard East LRT a priority project.  The Sheppard East LRT construction started in 2009 but work on the LRT was suspended in early 2011.  Work has continued on the Agincourt Grade Separation as a separate project.

 

4a. Are there enough funds to complete Sheppard as envisioned in original project to Morningside?

The Metrolinx “5 in 10 Plan” (2010)  included a budget for the Sheppard East LRT of $1 B as one of the projects to included in the Provincial funding commitment of $8.4 B and the federal government commitment of $330 M for a total of $8.7 B based on budgets for the other projects as follows:

Eglinton Crosstown LRT – $4.98B

-        underground Keele to Laird and at-grade from Jane to Keele and Laird to Kennedy

Finch West LRT – $0.94 B -  Keele to Humber College

Scarborough RT – $1.8 B

-        Conversion from Kennedy to Scarborough City Centre

-        Extension from SCC to Sheppard

Sheppard East LRT – $1 B

-        Don Mills to Morningside

Metrolinx will consider the Toronto City Council decision on the transit projects and  determine its approvals for scope, budget, schedule and delivery.

 

4b. What is the budget for the Sheppard LRT?

The Metrolinx “5 in 10″Plan”included a budget of $1 B for the Sheppard East LRT from Don Mills to Morningside is $1 B.

 

5a. Is the $300 Million from the Federal Government still available if Sheppard proceeds?

The federal government has indicated that funding is available for transit.  The federal commitment is subject to agreement between the federal government and Metrolinx but would likely be dependent on the Provincial commitment.

 

5b. Should the LRT not proceed, will the Federal Government redirect the $300 Million dollars to the Sheppard Subway?

The federal government would have to determine what, if any, funding commitment it would make to any transit project in Toronto.

 

6.  Are we completing the underpass railway lines between Kennedy and Midland on Sheppard Ave. (what is cost of underpass?)?

Yes the grade separation at Agincourt GO Station is proceeding.  The total cost is $51M with $30.5M expended to the end of 2011.

 

7.  What is the estimated cost of the subway from Kennedy to the Scarborough Town Centre?

The extension of the B-D Subway from Kennedy Station to the Scarborough Town Centre is estimated at $1.75B including vehicles plus $500M for new subway yard.

 

8.  What is the scheduled completion date for Sheppard LRT if we were to resume the project after Council approval?

The Sheppard East LRT would take 5 years to complete.

 

9.  Will work begin immediately on the marshalling yard at Sheppard and Conlins Road?

TTC can re-start the work on the Maintenance and Storage Facility when Metrolinx directs.

 

10.  Can we build the Sheppard LRT in a way that we can continue to Meadowvale and the Zoo to minimize costs in the future to make this linkage?

Yes

 

11.  Can the LRT be ready for the Pan-Am Games? If so, what is needed to achieve this goal?

No, the Sheppard East LRT cannot be completed in time for the Pan Am Games in 2015

 

12.  Can the Sheppard line be completed with one contractor? What is the plan? Can we start at various locations to complete Sheppard LRT ASAP?

Yes a contracting strategy can be developed that could use one or more contractors and proceed with work at various locations.  However, as design for the whole line does not progress at the same pace, the original plan was based on contracting the work in large packages, as the design was completed.

 

13.  What is the cost of the Sheppard subway as presented by the Mayor?

The MOU between the Mayor, Metrolinx and the Province of Ontario included a cost estimate of $2.75 B for the Sheppard Subway East and $1.48 B for the Sheppard Subway West plus $500 M for a new subway yard. Costs are in 2010$.

 

14.  Is there any money available for the Sheppard subway other than re-directing the money from the Sheppard LRT?

The current arrangement for Metrolinx funding of transit in Toronto requires Metrolinx to own the transit assets.   Metrolinx has indicated that it cannot own a subway extension.  The TTIL report has indicated other potential funding sources for the Sheppard Subway.

I supported the LRT coming underground to Kennedy because that was the only option for Scarborough on the table and Council had not decided to take a different approach on Eglinton and Finch.

I am aware that people feel strongly on both sides of this issue, but given all the facts, I am supporting an LRT on Sheppard Avenue.

Hopefully we will get the funds in the future to complete the LRT to the Zoo.

Yours truly