CodeRedTO to Host Transit Expansion Information Session for Sheppard Residents

Press Release issued this week:

Toronto transit advocacy group CodeRedTO will be hosting a public information session about Toronto’s coming light rail transit (LRT) expansion, on the evening of May 3rd at the Agincourt Library.

Date: May 3, 2012
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: Agincourt Library, 155 Bonis Avenue (map: http://g.co/maps/8ck79)

This session will provide constituents with facts (both positive and negative) about light rail and the impact in their neighbourhoods. Fully 50% of the time will be devoted to questions from the public. The TTC and Metrolinx have been invited to participate to help ensure correct information is available, and we will also explain precisely what details Metrolinx will have announced on April 25th.

“I want to try to bring more factual information into the debate,” said CodeRedTO co-founder Cameron MacLeod. “Some have tried to sell Scarborough a bill of goods, rather than honestly sharing the facts.”

Toronto City Council decided on February 8 and March 22 by a large majority to continue the previously approved, designed, funded, and in two cases already under construction LRT lines. However, some continue to use incomplete or misleading information about modern light rail in an attempt to derail the four badly needed rapid transit lines for Finch West, Sheppard East, the Scarborough RT replacement and extension, and Eglinton Avenue.

Some elected representatives have suggested that residents would prefer the already crowded buses, and/or the higher taxes and longer timelines required for subway expansion, rather than the significant improvements in dependability, speed, and capacity closer to their neighbourhoods that light rail makes possible.

However, a poll by Leger Marketing in January[Error in press release: actually February 14th] 2012 showed that given factual information comparing costs and timelines and neighbourhood impact, a majority of Toronto residents agreed with the light rail plan. This suggests, as CodeRedTO believes, that sharing more factual information can only help Toronto residents understand and believe in these expansion projects.

The CodeRedTO presentation will feature content sourced from TTC and Metrolinx staff, environmental assessments, and will be posted to the CodeRedTO website afterward for others to download.

Who has been invited? All MPs and MPPs representing the Scarborough areas close to future LRT lines, any Toronto City Councillors and TDSB Trustees close to future LRT lines in North York and Scarborough, and BIAs and local groups such as Respect Scarborough. Public notices are also being shared online and with nearby libraries, schools, and community centres.

For more information, please contact CodeRedTO: info@coderedTO.com

[Redacted: personal contact information for questions from media.]

How to Help

JOIN our email list to stay informed!

LEARN about Transit and why there's room for subways, light rail, and streetcars throughout our region. Combining different modes can often be a great city-building choice for the medium-density and lower-density neighbourhoods in Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo.

CALL your City Councillor, and tell them that you want rational, affordable, and rapid transit in Toronto to benefit everyone, not just one small section of the city. Rapid transit to Malvern, Morningside, and Waterfront East are achievable if we learn from successful transit networks around the world.

TELL your friends and family that new rapid transit is amazing - it really is! - but unless we stabilize and grow operations funding we risk leaving people waiting for crowded buses for decades longer.

Did you know: The bus routes on Finch carry as many riders per day as the population of North Bay! Routes on Lawrence, Jane, and elsewhere also carry a huge number of riders per day. We are decades behind and need more and better transit options for our residents now, not just small extensions that use up all the budget.

Contact us at info@CodeRedTO.com

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