The Eglinton Crosstown LRT project has become a symbol of what is wrong with the city. It doesn’t matter that it is a provincial project. The way that Ford has involved himself in city business has blurred the lines.

The Crosstown is over budget with no end date in sight. It seems to endlessly carry on with little concern for the impact on neighbours, businesses or local traffic.  

When Metrolinx or the provincial government is asked about the delays, they obfuscate, deflect and deny. The reality is that politics inflated the budget, the timelines were unreasonable, and Metrolinx has had to learn a few hard lessons in project management. 

Although the federal Liberal government cannot be held to account for the current debacle, they are responsible for adding the unbudgeted stations of Leslie and Chesswood to the tune of $500 million and, with it, delays.

When the Crosstown LRT first broke ground it was the largest transit project in Canada. Construction projects run into unexpected problems, and digging a tunnel through existing infrastructure is complicated.  

The timeline was likely too aggressive. It is difficult to say if the 260 deficiencies recently identified are reasonable or not, given the scope of the project. It seems odd that Eglinton station is being dug up before it even opened and the tracks on the route were not laid to specifications. What is reasonable is to expect that Metrolinx will provide a revised timeline.

What is clear is that Metrolinx acted like it knew more than the TTC throughout the entire project. This hubris is now its Achilles heel. 

Although many of these things can be explained, it does little to ease the suffering of many businesses and communities that have been under construction for a decade. It certainly seems that no government understands or cares or there would be a stronger commitment to a timeline.

We can only hope that the lessons learned will be applied to the Ontario Line. 

There was a time when governments existed to make life more livable. The mayoral candidate who understands this and can articulate a way forward has a chance of wearing the mayor’s chains on election day.