by Adam Mazerall

In just over a month, Sarah Thomson has been able to direct the attention of Toronto and fellow Mayoral candidates toward a subject inherently important to all Torontonians: Transit. She was the first candidate to take a strong stance on the issue, explaining during her January 26th launch that Toronto needs and wants an extensive subway. Since then, the main subject that Toronto seems to care about is transit.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has implemented a project called Transit City, which “is an initiative to build eight new Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines to neighbourhoods and areas currently not served by rapid public transit.” The idea behind Transit City is that LRTs are cheaper to construct and implement than a subway system. And of course, the City is known to only care about the bottom line.

What the TTC planners don’t make aware to the general public is that while, yes, an LRT system does cost less in the short-term than subway expansion, the long-term costs and issues balance out the price of a much more effective subway system.

“Light rails have a much shorter lifespan than subways. Subways have a longevity of 75-100 years,” says the strong businesswoman with over 24 years experience to her credit. Thomson is one of the only candidates who has foresight. For her, long-term means at least 75 years, unlike those on the planning committees who seem to focus on a 15-year interval.

“LRTs have to be rebuilt every 15 years,” says the subtle yet confident Thomson. Because of this, Thomson makes the astute point that you can’t compare the cost of building an LRT system against the cost of building an expanded subway. “Over the long-term, there is no way that it is cheaper to build the LRT.”

Look at it this way, if subways have a shelf life of 75 years, and LRTs have to be rebuilt at 15-year intervals, then you would have to multiply the cost of the LRT system by five to get an accurate comparison. And after the math, it is clear that the LRT proposal is simply a band-aid solution.

For Thomson, the Transit City proposal hinges on a more consumerist mentality. It doesn’t take into consideration the long-term issues of constructing a Light Rail Transit system that will decimate the beauty of Toronto as well as create divides between neighbourhoods and businesses.

“LRTs are destructive to the cultural character of neighbourhoods,” describes Thomson. “Subways raise density as well as housing equity…LRTs have been proven to have the opposite effect. There is a negative economic and cultural impact that goes hand and hand with LRTs.”

February is Transit month for Thomson. She is dedicated to raising awareness about issues concerning Toronto’s Transit and opening a dialogue with citizens who want change. Thomson will continue to listen to what the people of Toronto want and not what Toronto’s city planners tell them they want.

Toronto’s Mayoral election will be held October 25, 2010.