'Unacceptable:' Toronto councillor calls for public inquiry into Eglinton Crosstown delays

"Out of Service" signs are shown on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto on Friday, May 5, 2023. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT has been under construction for 10 years and includes a “Science Centre” stop that would increase transit accessibility to the attraction. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

A Toronto city councillor is calling for a public inquiry into the construction of the delayed and over-budget Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Ward 12 Toronto—St. Paul’s Coun. Josh Matlow plans to table a motion at city council next week asking the province to launch the inquiry.

Matlow says that the inquiry should examine the causes of the ongoing delays and the increased costs of the project as well as the “fractious relationship” between Metrolinx and the consortium building it.

He is also asking council to request that Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria and Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster personally attend an executive committee meeting at city hall next month to take questions from councillors about the delays and cost overruns.

 “Residents and businesses along 19 kilometres of Eglinton Avenue have been enduring over 12 years of hardship due to the endless construction. They have suffered incredible disruption and unmanageable traffic and safety issues as well as greatly reduced customer traffic, loss of revenue and in many cases business closure,” Matlow’s motion notes. “Despite repeated calls by city council demanding greater transparency and accountability, Metrolinx continues to refuse to explain the repeated delays, cost overruns and won’t even set a forecasted completion date.”

Construction on the Eglinton Crosstown began in 2011 and was initially slated to be completed in 2020 but it has been plagued by numerous delays and is now at least $1 billion overbudget. 

Earlier this week, Metrolinx confirmed that while it has made “significant progress” on the LRT it will not be operational by the end of 2024. The transit agency said that once it has an opening date that information will be shared with the public three months in advance.

In his motion, Matlow said that it is “unacceptable” that residents who made decisions based on the line opening in 2020 are “still waiting for the bus.”

Metrolinx, however, has hinted that it is getting closer to being able to operate the line.

The transit agency confirmed that operator training began on Aug. 12 and that the City of Toronto is undertaking inspections along the route.

“Are there bumps in the road. Absolutely, there are bumps in the road. But it is nothing short of a miracle how far we have come,” Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week when asked about the latest timeline for the project. “So sure, are we going to hit the next few months? Hopefully we will but if not it will be in the new year. My number one concern is we do not want an Ottawa (LRT) disaster where we push something along and it keeps breaking down. We want to make sure it is safe for the people operating the vehicles and safe for the people that are riding them.”

Matlow has called for a public inquiry into the Eglinton Crosstown delays before, most recently in 2022.